Inabsolution
by Silverflames16
Summary: In a distopian future, can a couple of loners band together and survive. Rated T for violence, language, and suggestive themes.
1. The Story of the World

**I'm back with my next full-length story. I wanted to do a distopian future, but nothing like the canon, 06, future. This story does have a slightly darker, yet more realistic, connotation. Beware of violence, language, suggestive themes, and mild gore. The unoriginal characters are property of Sega and Sonic team USA. Constructive criticism is appreciated and welcomed. I hope you enjoy.**

30 years...30 years since the world went to hell. A mixture of famine, war, and plague led to the destruction of nearly all of the world's population. It began as several years of large, widespread drought led to a devastating famine. The nations that had enough power to fight went to war for what food was left. For ten years, the superpowers clashed and someone won, I guess. And then the plague hit. A mad scientist, disgusted with the war, had developed a strain of virus never seen and immune to drugs. The governments that remained were hardly powerful enough to stop the virus from consuming most of what was left of the population.

Those lucky enough to have food, avoid the conflict, and be immune to the disease emerged from the devastation and began to rebuild. But, it was not nearly that simple. They were scattered, their numbers were small, and being one of the few that remain tends to have an adverse effect on one's morals. Starting from scratch, people had to remember how to live simply, with nothing but what they could find. But they were persistent, and not long after, small societies sprung up across the world, and just as there was nice society, there were those that tried to take it. Marauders were frequent, roaming bands of animals, no restraint and no morality. All they knew was to kill and destroy. They were always bad, it just took the removal of society's restraint to cut them loose. It was people like that that killed my parents.

My parents were part of a village, a small group of not much more than twenty. Diverse as could be, they pulled together and worked hard to build what they had. It was not to last. Wild Willy, the leader of one of the most infamous groups came knocking. My mother was just getting back on her feet from giving birth to me. He raided and the village was destroyed, my parents and I were the only survivors. For the next 12 years, the three of us drifted. All over the land, from high mountains to low swamps, we saw it all.

I was a hedgehog, like my father. My mother was a cat. It wasn't uncommon in the world we lived in to see cross species breeding. But before the world went to hell, my parents were an uncommon couple. I had silver fur, which led to my name, Silver. I did my hair up in five quills, with two more that stuck out of the back of my head. My eyes were amber and I had markings on my hands that glowed in an aqua hue. There was something different about me though, something strange; I was special. From the day I was born, I possessed a rather interesting skill. I could move things using only my mind. I could push and pull without moving a muscle. I could fly if I used it on myself, and as I practiced, I could use it to even paralyze people. My parents were surprised, but enjoyed it. It served as an extra set of hands. My mother told me what it was called, though she had never seen it herself. I believe it was called, "psychokinesis" psycho- meaning mind; -kinesis meaning movement. I could move things with my mind.

Growing up in this world and under the training of my parents, I learned all that I could ever want. From my father: hunting, fishing, wilderness survival, archery, sword fighting, and a whole array of manly techniques. From my mother: cooking, sewing, reading, fire starting, shelter construction, and all the, as she called it, "domestic skills" to remain civilized, as she claimed. It wasn't perfect and it was a lot of work, but we had enough and we survived. But it was all torn away from me, one fateful day. A day when Wild Will came calling and left me for dead, with my parents who he just killed. But I was resourceful. I escaped, and with only my father's bow, pistol belt, and my mothers book. I set off on my own. And for ten years, I traveled. Those early years were especially hard for me; most of my time was spent running, and I did some things I'm not proud of. But more often than not, it's kill or be killed. I wanted to help a lot of people, but I usually ended up looking the other way.

My life was fairly repetitive. I would wander through the world, on my own. My belt and pack carried all I needed: sewing kit, food, clothes, blanket, and the like. My belt was with me wherever I went. It had my knife, hatchet, a compass, rope, canteen. And then I had my bow. It was my father's; He had gotten it long before everything happened. He made a point of how important it was to him, but told me that one day it would be mine. I also had a short sword, just a little extra tool for fighting. I was a scavenger. I would roam from place to place, finding what I could. If I had to hunt, I would. If I was in need of something I couldn't find, most of the villages were friendly and willing to trade what I needed in exchange for a couple day's work or a supply run.

Being out on my own, it isolated me. I always tried to be friendly, and I was usually received very well, but my nomadic life made it hard for me to develop any real connection, so I was always a bit of a loner. There was one instance when I decided that maybe I should settle down. I found a group that resided by a river bank, and fished for there food. It was pretty good, until the day that a band of marauders showed up, executing the men and taking the women. I had been off hunting, and returned to find the camp in shambles and the men dead. After that, I made a point to not get to involved with any group. I'm 22 now and surviving. I'm not living, just existing. My name is Silver the Hedgehog, and this is my story.


	2. Just Another Day

**Alrightty then, with introductions out of the way, it's time to get down to buisness. Comment and review.**

I emerged from the treeline near the peak of the day. The sun was partly obscured by clouds and a cool, autumn breeze was blowing through. For the past few days, there was a chill in the air and I could tell that summer was coming to a close. There wasn't much color change, not yet, but I knew that it would be soon.

I found myself on a road, an old stretch of blacktop with 30 years of neglect and disrepair. I also found an old metal sign that read _Crandon. Population: Uncorporated._ I looked down the road and saw a couple old buildings that I might be able to find something useful in.

I started towards the town, eyes open for some kind of inhabitants. It had been a while since I had seen someone, and the last group I saw was less than friendly. But as I approached these old buildings, I could quickly tell that there was nobody around. The street had about six or seven buildings on either side, mostly houses. I went to the right side of the street and began to search.

The first house, it seemed like its structure gave way, as the second floor and roof had completely collapsed, probably a while back. So, climbing over the rubble, I kept searching, into the next house. I cut through the yard, which was overgrown with thirty years of growth, and through a doorway with a door that was falling off of its hinges.

I open it just wide enough for me to fit through, and the thing finally gave way, the hinges being pulled right out of the frame. I was in some kind of study, because there was an old bookshelf, a desk, a fish tank, and several other hobby related items. I always liked going through houses, it was interesting to see how people lived before all this happened. Just to see how much time people had to waste before the world went to hell. My parents would often tell me about what life was like and it was always so foreign. I was so used to surviving, it was all I knew. The extent of my free time was sitting beside a fire, trying to fall asleep.

I decided to check inside the desk first. In the past, I would get lucky with desks, usually finding a bottle of painkillers, which were worth more than food in this world. There was nothing but old papers, and when I busted open the top, locked drawer, I found only more papers. Slamming the drawer shut, I continued deeper into the house.

I stepped into a hallway. To my left, the front door and the living room, as well as a staircase. On my right, the kitchen. I set my backpack and bow down, and walked into he kitchen.

The scene was a familiar one, packages of food ripped open, empty cans littering the floor, and utensil drawers torn out and rifled through. I usually would look in kitchens that looked like that, since anything of value was usually taken, but I was in luck today. Because I saw a sealed bottle of pepper sitting in a spice rack. My day had just been made; pepper was almost as valuable as pills, so I could trade it, or keep it and use it for myself. I quickly skimmed what was left in the kitchen, nothing.

I went back into the hall, my confidence in this house restored, dropped the pepper with my bag, and went into the living room. There was a big, wide window that had been smashed in. The furniture was torn up and decaying and the pictures that had been hanging on the wall had all but fallen off and faded. I stopped and picked one up. It was a family of three: parents and daughter. She looked to be in her early teens when the picture was taken. There was nothing for me in the frontroom, so I proceeded upstairs.

There were three doors in the hall upstairs: left, right, and center. I went into the left room first. I must have found the daughter's room, because pink, everywhere. There was a bed, dresser, TV, a pile of stuffed animals, and oddly enough, a gaping hole in the roof. The bed shared the same fate as the other furniture, the stuffed animals laid, decaying, in the corner. The dresser was in disrepair and the jewelry box on top was full of fake, imitation jewels.

When I decided that there was nothing, I went into the room across the hall. It was the parents' room. Their bed was in slightly better condition, their window and roof intact, and most everything looked pretty well preserved. I started going through the drawers and found nothing useful. But I did find a small box with a pair of gold rings. I always wondered why gold was so valuable; it didn't do much, other than shine. It was pretty flimsy and rare, so that made it even less useful. And the world I lived in figured that out, because gold wasn't worth much more than rocks. Replacing the box, I also found a book. Across the front was a cross and the cover read, _Holy Bible._ I opened it and found that 30 years was not good to it, as the pages fell right out of the binding. There was also a bottle of brown liquid, with the label torn off. I already knew, "Alcohol." I whispered. I personally didn't drink the stuff, but I knew someone would give a lot for he bottle.

One room left, I went into the center room, which turned out to be the bathroom. I opened the medicine cabinet, and found what I was looking for, "Jackpot." I said. Painkillers, antibiotics, antacids, and muscle relaxers. All my searching paid off in foul swoop as I grabbed up the pills and headed back downstairs. Putting my newly found goods into my pack, I sat down for a moment, to rest.

My rest was only momentary, because I soon heard the faint sound of voices. I stood up, grabbing my bow, and I cut back through the study and crouched behind the destroyed building, peering around the corner. The voices were coming from the direction I came, and after a moment, I saw four figures, coming down the road. As they got closer, I began to make sense of their conversation.

One voice said, "Oh yes, we're glad we caught you miss."

Another voice laughed and said, "Yeah, were gonna have some fun tonight."

Suddenly, there was a loud yelping noise and the first voice said, "What happened?!"

The second voice said, "She bit me."

The first voice responded, "Is that right?" Their was a smacking sound and then again, the first voice said, "Bitch!"

I looked down the road again, now that the group was closer, I made their figures out clearly. There were three men, and a young girl that looked about my age, chain to one. The first was a wolf, with an eye patch and leather jacket. The second, was a hyena, who was sucking his index finger. And the one with the girl chained was a lion, with a scar across his cheek. These were three ugly men and not an uncommon sight.

But the girl was different, she was ver pretty with lavender fur. It didn't take a wise man to figure out what they were going to do. It wasn't that uncommon either. She looked in my direction and saw me peeking my head out around the corner. Now compelled to help, I waved my hand as a sign that I would help.

I went back inside and nocked an arrow on my bow. I then stood a couple feet back from the window, in a shadow. And as the three men came into view, I lined my sight up on the wolf.

He was about twenty yards and I lined my pin up with the middle of his body as he walked sideways to me. I exhaled on deep breath and let the arrow fly. There was a definitive crack of the arrow hitting his backbone, and it showed, because his legs went limp and he fell to the ground screaming.

His companions went down to his side, affording me the time to nock another arrow. This time I drew and aimed for the lion, who had his front turned to me. Another let fly and it hit him square in the chest, knocking him over and killing him instantly. The girl was dragged down as well.

The hyena stood up, spinning around and looking for the source of the arrows. Too late, I nocked my third arrow and lined it up with his upper chest. His eyes met mine for only a split second, because the air was let to fly in the next and it hit him a little high, square in the neck. His whole body went limp and he collapsed to his knees and then fell face first. The wolf didn't last much longer either, as his twitching quickly stopped.

I let out a sigh and then hoped out the window and walked toward the girl.

She was sitting up now, but had a concerned look as I approached her. "I'm sorry I had to do it that way. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

She only looked at me in silence. I continued, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. But I need to know if they did so I can help." She finally shook her head. I then knelt down and began to look for some keys to her chains that she had around her wrists and neck. I found the set on the lion. I then went behind her and undid her hands.

I then went back to her front and asked, "Now before I take these off, will you stay and talk for a minute. I want to help you out." She didn't show any response. I took it at face value and undid her neck chain. I didn't know why I was trying to get her to stay. I knew nothing about her, not even her name. But with one click, the neck chain snapped open. We both stood up, but in just a snap, she took off running down the street.

"Hey wait..." I said. But it was too late, she was gone.

I kicked the ground, "Dang." But then something metallic caught my eye. I bent down and picked it up. It was a gold locket, inside was a picture of two cats, both with lavender fur. There was a message inscribed on the reverse side, _To our loving daughter Blaze. _

"Blaze." Rolled off my lips...


	3. Killing Time

**Well, since I've received such positive reception of this story, here's the next chapter, as requested. Enjoy, and please, comment and review.**

I stood there for a moment, looking at the locket. I closed the locket and slid it into my pocket. I went back to the house and sat down on the couch. I shouldn't have been surprised that she ran off the way she did, but I was. I looked out towards the street, the three bodies were a sight. I couldn't blame her for running off. Captors or not, I still murdered them, right in front of her. I must have looked like some kind of monster.

I decided to explore the area a little bit, so I packed up my stuff and kept searching. I didn't find much else: some cloth and string, a utensil set, and a book about pirates. Books were another thing with a lot of value. They were pretty scarce; I suppose 30 years in unregulated conditions wasn't very good for the books, but literacy was still very important.

One thing my mother made a point of was making sure I had some kind of education. She taught me some simple things. I could read, pretty well actually. I could do basic math (Arithmetic, algebra, geometry). I found the math to be rather useful. But this was about all she could teach me. She emphasized the basics, and plenty of practice.

I applied this idea to all of my life. I would regularly practice with my bow. If I had some extra food and maybe some spices, I would experiment with new recipes, building off of the basics that I knew.

One of the things that my parents would tell me about was food. I didn't know a wide range of foods. Indigenous fruits and vegetables, a small range of meat, and a few kinds of spices, but not much more. They would tell me about all these complex recipes made of exotic meats and spices that would just make my mouth water. I hoped, that one day, life might get back to the way it was before and I could enjoy all the luxuries my parents told me of. But it soon became apparent that I probably never would.

I decided that I should get to work finding dinner. There was a creek that ran through just on the outskirts of town, so I decided that I would fish for my dinner. I set my things down on the river bank. I then took my hatchet and cut down a sapling to fasten it into a pole. I then took the string I had just found and tied it to the sapling. I then went into the sewing kit in my bag and got out one of my large needles, tieing it to the other end of the string, and bending it into the shape of a hook. I went to digging into the soft bank of the river to find some bait. I was in luck, a few worms. I attached the worm to my "hook" and then cast out a line into the stream.

As I sat on a log near the river, waiting for a nibble, I couldn't help but think about the girl from earlier. "Blaze?" I said softly. It was a pretty name, pleasing to both the tongue and ear. She was very pretty, her figure was still so clear in my mind. She looked to be about my height, perhaps a little shorter. Her hair was up in four ponytails, and her eyes were like mine, amber, but they looked much better on her. She had little tufts of hair stick out on the side of her head and there was a red jewel in the middle of her forehead. I still couldn't believe that she just ran off. I only wanted to help.

There was a tug at my pole. I pulled it out to see a fish, hooked and flopping on the end of my line. I swung him towards me. It was a black cod, he was just hooked in the lip. My worm was even still intact. I pulled the needle out and threw my line back into the water. I set the fish down by my bag and returned to my thoughts.

I couldn't blame her though. She probably had been through enough for one day, and my killing those three men was just to much. But it was her loss. She didn't seem to have any supplies at all. She wouldn't last a week. And everything being as scare as it was, she probably wouldn't find much.

There was another tug at my line, and again there was a cod at the end. This one had swallowed the hook whole, but figuring that two was enough, I decided to head back and settle in for the night, as I had a lot still to do, and the afternoon was nearly half done.

So I gathered up my things and headed back to the house I found the pepper in, since I remembered that there was a fireplace in the living room. Back at the house, I set my things down on the couch, and went to work on my two fish. I untied my string from the sapling, throwing the latter into the yard.

I took my yield into the kitchen to prepare them for cooking. A few minutes to fillet the fish and remove the leftovers. I then cleaned my knife and hook, as well as my hands in the stream from earlier. I found a couple dead trees and collected some wood for a fire. There was an old metal grate to put over the fire and I had a pan in my bag.

I had been taught to never eat supper until dark, because as long as there is light, work can be done. With the last of my work done, the sun had just vanished from sight and there was only darkness.

Except for the moon and stars, of course. One of the most wonderful sights was in this crazy world was the night sky. The sky was lit up with amazing sights of the little dots. Even in a world where I saw them every night, they were still breathtaking. My father taught me their names and all sorts of constellations. He showed my the north star, and taught me how to use them to navigate. Of them all, my favorite was the big dipper. So simple, easy to find and visible all year round.

The moon was beginning towards fullness again. About three nights earlier, there had been no moon. I sat at the window for a moment, staring up at the night sky. But I wasn't alone. I was alerted by the sound of a rock being kicked out in the street, and figure moving stealthily a short way down.

I leaned back in and grabbed my bow. The figure was being rather cautious, like it thought it was being watched. In fact it was. I paid close attention to the figure. The figure finally stepped into the moonlight. I was surprised to see the girl, Blaze, had returned. She crept over to the three bodies from earlier, kneeling down and started to go through them. I probably could have just left her to her business, but for some reason, I felt compelled to go talk to her.

I set my bow back down, and hopped out the window. Ever so quietly, I snuck over to her. I didn't know what, but something was drawing me towards her, like a bug to fire. I finally stopped a couple feet from her and said, "Hello there."


	4. Fireside

**Finally time to introduce Blaze as a character. I am trying to be somewhat realistic to her canon personality. So please don't be mad if I make her cold at first. And since I have sports and AP testing, these updates will probably be much less frequent. Comment and review.**

The girl did not take kindly to me sneaking up behind her. She sprang up, pulling a knife from the belt of the lion. I was quicker though. I drew my knife from my belt and quickly knocked her knife away.

I now held her at knifepoint and said, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk." She stared at me for a moment, contemplating my point, and eventually conceded it. I sheathed my knife and she went back to going through the bodies. "I'm sorry for having to kill them like I did." She didn't respond. I continued, "I really don't like having to do that you know."

This time she spoke, "They deserved what they got." Her voice was quiet, and she sounded tired.

"Then why did you run off. I said I wasn't going to hurt you. I wouldn't have freed you if I was going to."

She responded, "Some have strange senses of humor...like to play with their victims first."

I conceded her point and continued. "Either way, I did what had to be done."

She responded, "I could have handled them myself."

I replied, "Perhaps. But I wasn't going to risk it. I just wanted to help."

She shot back, "I didn't ask for it! How has some naive kid like you managed to last this long." That one stung a little. I had been called naive before. I preferred to think of myself as hopefully optimistic. She continued, "Why are you here?"

To be honest, I wasn't sure myself. Maybe curiosity, or perhaps closure, but what I said even less sense. "You looked tired. I thought maybe you'd like a place to sleep. The place I'm holed up has an intact roof and a couple beds."

She gave a bit of a sarcastic laugh and said, "Just get out of here."

I lowered my head. "Oh...alright. Good luck, sorry to bug you." I started to walk back to the house, when I remembered something. "I almost forgot."

"What?" She replied.

I walked back towards her. "I have something that belongs to you." I pulled the locket out of my pocket. "It must have fallen of earlier."

She stood up and walked towards me. I held out the locket and she took it. She held it close to her face and then opened it. She then, ever so quietly said, "Thank you." I only nodded and then turned to walk back to the house. About halfway between her and the house, she said, "Do you have food?"

I froze and then replied, "In fact I do. I caught some fish today and was about to cook them up."

She then said, "I guess I could stay for tonight...if you'll still have me?"

I smiled and said, "I'm holed up over there." And pointed to the house. I then walked back to the house and sat there in silence, waiting for her. After a couple minutes, I heard her climb through the window. She put her hand up to say hi. She had a satchel on and was carrying a sword. I got to work building a fire In the fireplace.

She sat in a chair and asked, "So...do you live here?"

I replied, "No. I'm a wanderer. I just camped here for the night. How about you?" She didn't respond. I dropped it and went to get flint from my bag.

But when I pulled it out, she said, "Let me." She lit a fire in her hand and threw the flame into the fireplace, setting it ablaze.

I guess that's where she got her name, "Whoa! That's amazing." I said, sitting down on the couch.

She looked a little surprised at my reaction. "You think my flames are amazing?"

I replied, "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

She thought about this for a second and then replied, "Most people are afraid of it."

I replied, "Well I think it's great. In fact..." I used my psychokinesis to float a pair of mess kits out of my bag, setting one by me, the other by her. Her eyes went a little wide. "You're not the only one."

She was surprised, "That's amazing. How long could you do that?"

I smiled and replied, "Since I was born. The same for you?" She nodded. The fire had calmed and I took the fish and put them on the grate over the fire.

I was down, cooking the fish and Blaze spoke, "I'm sorry. I never did thank you. You were just helping, and I shouldn't have said what I did."

I replied, "It's quite alright. People aren't used to kindness anymore. They're so set on doing things alone that they don't want any help."

She blinked, a little surprised, "Well...either way, I'm sorry."

I only shook my head, "You don't have to be. You're just trying to stay alive."

The fish cooked quickly over the fire and was ready soon after. I held my hand out for her tin plate. She handed it to me and I took a fish from the grate, put it on the plate, and gave it back to her.

"Thank you."

I took my fish and then sat back down. We both dug in, starved from the day.

Between bites she said, "This is great. Thank you so much." I only nodded. We both devoured our food quickly. We then sat and watched the flames die down.

I finally broke the silence, "Where will you go from here?"

She didn't respond at first, but after exhaling a deep breath, she spoke, "I don't know. West maybe. Why?"

I wanted to know because I wanted her to go with me. I didn't know why. Strength in numbers, an extra set of hands, or maybe just a friend. "Because, I'm heading south, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with."

She thought for a moment and then replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't even know your name. I don't think it would be best to go with you."

I replied, "Oh...alright then."

She then let out a yawn and asked, "The beds are upstairs?" I nodded. She replied, "Ok, well, goodnight." And with that she picked up her bag and sword and went upstairs. I just sat there and watched the flames dance and the sparks crack...

(The next morning)

We stood on opposite sides in the street, not sure how to say goodbye.

Blaze spoke first, "Well thank you very much, uhm..." I interjected, "Silver." She smiled and nodded, "Blaze. Thank you very much Silver. Good luck." She turned and started to walk away.

As she did, I spoke up, "You can't do it alone." She stopped, but didn't say anything, "This world, you can't do it alone." She stood there for a moment, but then continued walking. Figuring her a lost cause, I turned to walk the other way.

The walk out of town was lonelier than the walk in. I had missed a chance for a friend. Someone to take on this world with. But as I approached the outskirts of this little town, I stopped for a moment. But when I did, I heard the sound of footsteps at my heels. I turned around to see Blaze walking towards me. "South, is it?"

I smiled and replied, "Yeah, it is."


	5. Encounter

**Sorry for the wait. Like I said, million things going on. And I know the chapter's kind of short, but this is mostly a bridge. Comment and review.**

We walked in silence, side by side. I still couldn't believe that she actually changed her mind.

I knew we couldn't just walk, so I asked, "What made you change your mind?"

She replied, "I don't know. I guess I realized that you were right." I nodded in understanding. We had been walking for a while. There were trees on both side and the peak of the day was fast approaching. She then asked, "So...your bow...how good are you with it?"

I replied, "Good enough." The truth was that I was very good. It was my best option. I relied on it for hunting and it became almost second nature. It was my father's, but when he died, it became mine. It wasn't the best, rather old actually. There had been many times that I could have acquired a better one, but I kept it because it felt like the bow was a part of him. I was still able to feel him. I could hear his voice in my head, guiding my aim.

From my mother, a book that once belonged to her. She taught me to read using it and the stories were amazing. There was immense wisdom within and I had long since memorized the words. Throughout the book, there were notes in the margins, little thing my mother had written. Scrawled in those pages was her, her words and her heart.

I decided to change the subject, "So your powers. What can you all do with them?"

She replied, "Not much. I can make fire, control it, and extinguish it. Most people don't like it though. They're afraid that I'm going to burn them."

I replied, "You can't blame them for something they don't understand."

She replied, "And why aren't you afraid?"

I stopped and put my hand on her shoulder, "Because I understand." She looked at me, completely speechless what I said. Before she could say something, we both heard some yelling off into the woods. She took a couple steps towards the sound and then motioned for me to follow. We both ran into the woods towards the sound. As we got closer, we heard more. There was the clash of metal and the familiar twang of bows. There was some shouting as well. We raced as fast as we could until finally reaching the source.

We stood on a slight elevation overlooking a battle. It wasn't large, with a total of about 40 combatants. Sides could be easily distinguished. One side possessed red caps, a style of beret. The other side had a blue symbol painted of their shirts. The two sides clashed with swords, while people with bows tried to target stragglers. Blaze removed the sword that she was carrying from its sheath. I wasn't sure why, but I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Careful." But no sooner had I said this, someone from the red side saw us and shot an arrow at us. It missed, but reacting quickly, I nocked and arrow and let it fly towards our attacker before he could even reload. It hit him and he died instantly.

A couple of his allies saw this and began to fire arrows at us. Blaze and and I took cover. "Blaze...do you trust me?"

She replied, "That depends, what's your plan?"

I said, "I'm gonna use my powers to make a shield for us and then we can attack those archers down there."

She replied, "Ok. Just tell me when."

I drew my sword, "Now!" I jumped up and used my powers to make a "shield". The arrows that they fired at us got caught and floated there. We charged their positions and they quickly realized that they were having no effect. We closed the distance quick and in one foul swoop, Blaze jumped up and over the shield and pounced on one of the archers. The second archer was distracted by his partner and the slip gave me an opening to grab him with my powers and throw him a good distance. I turned to see Blaze had dispatched the other archer, who now had a scarlet red stain on his shirt to match his cap.

Our little attack didn't go unnoticed. Others with the red berets saw us and we found ourselves surrounded by eight enemies. Blaze and I stood back to back.

"Duck." She hissed into my ear. I did what she said and I dove to the ground. I then saw a wave of flames knock the cluster of enemies that had surrounded us off their feet. They screamed in pain from burn and Blaze then said, "Get up! We're not done yet!"

I jumped back up. Blaze was fighting a pair that dodged her attack and there was another that recovered and attacked me. I drew my sword and just managed to block my attacker. I shoved him to break our lock and as he stumbled back I used my powers to paralyze him. I then threw him into one of Blaze's two combatants. Blaze then easily finished off her opponent. Our presence shifted the tide since we had single handedly taken out half of the red caps.

The blue shirts easily defeated their opponents now that they outnumbered them 2 to 1. The red caps, realizing their situation, quickly retreated past Blaze and I, and the blue shirts let out a cheer. Blaze and I stood there, a little confused.

One of the blue shirt that had noticed our presence came over to us and spoke, "Thank you." He was a gazelle, blue fur and green eyes.

I sheathed my sword, "For what?" I asked.

He replied, "For helping us defeat those swine."

Blaze also sheathed her sword, "What swine? Why were you all fighting?"

The gazelle sighed, "It's a long story. Our leader would be able to explain it better. If you would like, we can take you back to our camp. We owe you two at least some food and a place to rest."

I said, "Let us think about that for a moment?" I pulled Blaze aside, "What do you think?"

She replied, "I'm following you. I trust your instinct."

I replied, "Ok then." I walked back to the gazelle, "Sure. We would be glad to accept your hospitality."

He smiled and held out his hand to shake, "I'm Marcus." I shook his hand, "Silver. And her name's Blaze."


	6. The Sawlites

**I want to apologize to all my readers for being on hiatus for so long. But finally, my AP testing and sports are both over and I now have a ton of free time. I hope this is the first of many updates and the improvement of my writing skill.**

Mid day had come fast as the warmth of sunlight flooded the forest floor. Our troop had been walking for a while, climbing up the side of a valley. The sound of birds chirping made for a much more pleasant hike. I could tell, though, that winter was encroaching. The days were getting shorter and the mornings came with a greater nip in the air. My focus, however, shifted when we emerged from the forest and before was a fence. At its gates, guards stood at the ready but relaxed upon seeing us. Beyond the fence, there was a sort of encampment. The troop passed through the gates, but the guards took notice of some interloopers...Blaze and I.

One of the guards placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Who are you?" He inquired. I hesitated, not sure what to tell him.

But Marcus stepped up and said, "It's alright Edge, they're with us." The guard, a wolf, looked at Marcus for a moment before removing his hand from my shoulder and letting us pass.

"You'll have to excuse the guards. They've been on edge ever since those factors attacked last week."

"Factors?" Blaze asked.

Marcus replied, "Yes. The guys with the red hats. Our leader will be able to explain it better." The three of us walked through the camp, down a row of tents. People of all ages were hard at work. Some were cooking, others were cleaning, and others were crafting things.

We reached a slightly larger tent at the end of the row and Marcus stopped. "Just wait here. I'll explain to him and then you guys can talk with him." And then he stepped inside the tent.

I turned to Blaze and said, "What do you think?"

She replied, "About what?" and I said, "These people."

She pondered for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure. They seem friendly, but..." She was interrupted by the return of Marcus.

"Alright, just head in, he's enthused to talk to the two of you." And as soon as he came, Marcus was gone down the row of tents. I shrugged and then motioned for Blaze to follow me in.

Brushing aside the flap at the tent entrance, I saw that this was the tent of a busy person. It was messy, but organized. There was food stacked in the corner. All sorts of strange trinkets spread out across tables, disassembled and some rebuilt. There were some things that I didn't recognize though.

But then a voice spoke up, "So you're the two that helped my people." Blaze and I both turned to see someone sitting at a table, his back turned to us, tinkering with some metallic device. "Just a moment." he added.

Blaze and I did as we were asked, and awkwardly stood, waiting for him to finish. The man finished with what he was doing, and then stood up to turn around and face us. He was a yellow fox, with two tails.

"Hi. I'm Miles." He said with a smile, extending his hand to shake.

I took it first, "Silver." Blaze then shook it, "Blaze."

He then said, "So, what can I do for you?"

We both looked confused. "What do you mean?" Blaze asked.

Miles replied, "Marcus told me how you two helped out. I want to know what I can do to repay you." I looked at Blaze, we hadn't really been expecting anything. The only reason we joined was because we were attacked.

"Uhm..." I began. "Some food would be nice."

Miles replied, "Done. Anything else?"

Blaze now spoke up, "A place to stay for the night."

Miles again replied, "Sure, you two can stay here for the night."

Blaze added, as though she were bargaining, "We'll pull our weight."

Miles replied, "Alright. Come with me." He led us back down the row of tents, as if giving us a tour. "We're the Sawlites. This place used to be a saw mill, hence the silly name. We've existed for many years, just trying to survive..."

Blaze jumped in, "But who we those people with the red hats?"

Miles replied, "A group that we know as the factors. They're on the other side of this valley, and our two groups have been enemies for as long as I've been here." He stopped at the end of the row of tents, "You two can stay here for the night. Unfortunately we don't have any extra tents, sorry."

I said, "That's quite alright. Thank you."

Miles continued, "I'll have some extra food dropped off in a little while. If there is anything else we can do, just come find me or Marcus."

Blaze added, "We should be the ones telling you that."

(Later, that evening)

The day coming to a close, Blaze and I sat by a fire. The sun had already set, and most people had gone into their tents. Blaze was watching a couple of fish over the fire and I was leaned up against a log, reading.

"What are you reading?" She said, breaking the silence.

I looked up from the pages, "Why does it matter? Can you read?"

She shook her head, "No. But I'm curious."

I set the book down. "Well, this book was my mother's. It has many generation's worth of wisdom written across the pages. My mother told me that many found solace in its words."

Blaze looked at me, slightly perplexed. "What do you mean? What's it about?"

I thought for a moment on how best to explain it. "Well, it's essentially a story, about the early history of the world. It's a collection of immense feats and impossible miriacals."

She asked, "Like what?" I replied, "Things like defeating giants and walking on water and parting the seas."

Her eyes went wide at my examples. "Is it a true story?"

I smiled, "Well...I don't know. But it works a lot better if you believe it to be so."

She asked, "Can you read me something?"

I replied, "Sure." I picked up the book, looking for the right line, and I found it, "Blessed be the lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. My goodness, and my fortress; My hightower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who sebdueth people under me."

She looked at me for a moment, "Wow, that's great, who wrote that?"

I was about to answer, but a voice spoke up from the darkness, "Psalms 144." Miles stepped into the light, sitting down. "It's been a long time since I heard those words."

Blaze greeted him, "Is there something we can help you with?"

He shook his head, "No. I'm just interested to know a little more about the two strangers that helped my people today. Silver and Blaze, right?" We both nodded. "So, where are you two heading."

I looked at her and shrugged, "South."

Miles looked intrigued, "Marcus and few others said they saw both of you preform amazing things..."

I perked up, "Well, I was born with psychokinesis."

Miles added, "You can move things with your mind?" I nodded. I then used my power to take on of the skewered fish on a stick and float the stick over to Blaze, who proceeded to eat. I then floated the other stick to me.

"Interesting." Miles said. "What about her?" Without stopping her consumption of the fish, she snapped her fingers and the small campfire roared in size. Miles' eyes went wide and he jumped back a bit. I sat and laughed a little at his reaction.

"That's amazing." He said.

"Thank you." Blaze and I said in unison.

"I used to have friends like you, but that was many years ago."

I inquired, "What happened to them?" Blaze shot me a dirty look.

Miles answered, "They all died. Some in the war and others in the plague. You look an awful lot like one of them Silver."

I looked up, "Really?"

Miles nodded, "Yes, his name was Sonic. He was the fastest thing I ever saw. But even his speed couldn't save him from the sickness." Miles' voice drifted off at the end. There was silence for a moment. Miles spoke up again, "I'm in need of your help. If you two feel up to it."

I replied, "What do you need?"

Miles answered, "I'll tell you two in the morning. Get some sleep." And with that, he was up and left. Blaze and I were alone again. She finished up her fish and then wished me goodnight, turning on her side to sleep.

I elected to stay up until the fire died. As I sat there and watched the fire die, I looked over towards Blaze who was peacefully asleep. I took note on how cute she was when she was asleep. It then dawned upon on just how pretty she was. Her face had this rather soft expression and the tufts of hair in the side of her face was a nice touch. Blaze was really pretty. But I didn't think much more on it, realizing just how tired I was, I also rolled over and went to sleep.

**I'm sorry if it offends anyone that Silver is christian. But hey, it's Tails! My updates should become much more frequent now, and again, sorry for the unexpected hiatus. And yes, the Sawlites is a pun.**


	7. The Request

**Update time! Feel free to pm me with anything that you feel will improve the quality of the story. Unregistereds...make an account and then pm me.**

I woke up early the next morning. The sun had only begun to crest the horizon and there was a thin layer of fog. It was an unusually chilly morning and the breeze didn't make it any better. I sat up, stretching and rubbing my eyes. I let out a big yawn and then hopped to my feet. I always was an early riser, I had to be. I put my pistol belt on and picked up my bow. I glanced over to Blaze who was still fast asleep. She had curled into a ball overnight and she was shivering just a bit. I picked up my backpack and pulled out a blanket. I walked over to and covered Blaze. Her shivering subsided and she curled up tighter. The scene made me smile a bit. I then put my backpack on and I decided to go for a walk. There wasn't much activity in the Sawlite camp, save a few guards patrolling the perimeter. I decided to take a look around.

There wasn't much to the camp, it seemed as though only sixty or so lived there. This almost shantytown of tents made up the bulk of the camp, though this was not uncommon. There seemed to b a pattern though. the tents were grouped in fours around fire pits. As I strolled through the camp, I caught sight of a rise just beyond the fence. Wanting to get a better view of the area, I flew over the fence and started up the little hill. I had a lot on my mind. The Sawlites seemed like an good group. But the Factors though, I had no idea what to think. And Miles, what could he have needed from us. And Blaze, I had no idea what to make of her. She seemed to make a good ally, yet she seemed cold and reckless. I pondered these things in my head as I climbed the hill, reaching the top rather quickly. But at the summit of this little mount, I saw that I was not alone. Atop the hill, Miles was standing, overlooking the valley, he had a blank expression on his face. He gave no acknowledgement to my presence.

I greeted him with a smile, "It seems that you rise earlier than I do."

Miles replied, "I don't sleep much anymore Silver. It's been a long time since I slept peacefully, so I come here, to clear my head."

"Can I join you then?" I asked. He nodded and I took a place beside him. We stood side by side in silence, exchanging no looks, but sharing the same thoughts. I wanted to ask him, but I wasn't sure if this was the right time. The awkwardness was too much to bare, I finally broke the silence, "Who are the factors?"

Miles let out a sigh. After a moment, he pointed across the valley, "There is an old factory across the valley. Many years ago, our two groups founded camps on either side of this valley. For years, we existed in harmony of one another. But something happened over there, because one day, not too long ago, the factors became hostile attacking our groups that scavenged nearby towns and our gatherers in the valley below. They've been waging war with us ever since." I didn't know what to say. There was another long pause. Miles again broke the silence, "And now I need your help." I looked at him. "We are losing this fight, the factors seek to kill every last one of us." I wasn't sure what he wanted from me.

"I'm sorry Miles, but I can't go to war for you. I'm not a warrior, and neither is Blaze."

He replied, "You strike me as an optimist. Naive, but an optimist. I was the same way in my younger days, but this world has hardened me."

I was slightly perplexed, it was the second time someone called me naive. "Then what do you need."

He turned to me and placed his hands on my shoulder, "I need a spy. I need you to tell me what they're planning. Just for one day, go around their camp and listen in." He removed his hands from my shoulders and turned back towards the valley.

I was shocked by such a drastic request, I was expecting a scavenging mission. "Why me, why us?" I asked.

He replied, "Because you two are capable of handling yourselves. If something happens, you two have the skills to escape."

I sighed. I wanted to help, but what he was asking was crazy. "I'm sorry Miles. I barely know you or your people. But you're asking me to risk myself like that, to risk Blaze."

He said, "Please, I'm begging you. Anything you need, it's yours. Food, supplies, shelter. Name it and it's yours." The look of sheer desperation showed just how serious he was. But I couldn't risk myself like that, nor could I just answer for Blaze like that.

I shook my head, "It's not the point. This is my life we're talking about."

I turned to walk away, but as I started down the hill, Miles called out. "Please, reconsider it. Talk about it with your partner." I didn't hesitate or give any response, I just kept walking. I made my way back to the camp and saw that my excursion had lasted just long enough for this camp to get going.

People were cooking, and mothers were feeding their children. They were families that were just trying to get ready for another day. It was a nice scene. It gave my hopes ground to stand on. Hope that there are places where we can actually rebuild ourselves, instead of tearing each other apart. In my wandering, I had come across groups of all kinds, but never a group that was bent on rebuilding. Anywhere that I went, I only saw hate and fear, and I was seeing the same thing happen here. And I'm sure that the Factors, despite what Miles told me, were just like the Sawlites. Just a group, trying to survive. I returned to the spot where Blaze and I had camped and saw that she was up, warming herself by a fire that she built.

"You look awfully lonely." I said. She responded, not looking away from the fire.

"Where were you?"

I sat down across from her, "I went for a walk. I was talking to Miles."

She looked at me, "And?"

I replied, "He wants us to be spies." She looked slightly unsure. I continued, "Their at war with the group with the red hats, and apparently they're losing. Miles want us to spy in their camp, just for a day. He wants an idea of what they're up to."

She took this all in and stared at the fire, pondering Miles' request. I decided to give her my thought process, "I want to help, I really do. But I don't want to risk my neck for these people that I barely know."

There was silence, but after a moment, Blaze said, "Why did you help me?"

I didn't know what she was getting at. "Why does it matter?"

She shook her head, "You're so naive...what made you help me?" I blinked, why were people calling me naive? There was nothing childish about how I saw things.

I replied, "Because you needed help. Those men had you held prisoner..."

She interjected, "And I never asked for your help, but you did anyways. Now, these people need your help and you're turning them down? I guess I don't understand how you can say no." Her point hit me hard, I lowered my head. She was right. I go out of my way to help someone, and not two days later, I'm telling a group that they're on their own "It's your choice, I'll follow you, whatever you decide."

Just as she finished, Miles came walking up to us. "Have you two been discussing my request?"

I thought about my answer for a moment, and decided to go for it, they needed us. I nodded, "We'll do it."

Miles' eyes went wide, "Really?" Blaze nodded. "Great, I'll go find Marcus and he'll fill you two in." Miles then walked away at a fast pace, looking for Marcus.

Blaze was looking at me. "I guess people like us are always here to lend a hand."

She cracked a bit of a smile. "I guess we are." She said, rolling up the blanket I spread over her. "I woke up with this blanket on me." She walked over to me with it in her hand.

"Any idea who did it?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, I think I do." She said, handing it to me.

(Two hours later)

"We're almost there." Marcus said, leading us. Our hour long march across the valley seemed a lot longer than I wished. There valley was densely wooded and filled with swamp. The sun had risen, and the fog lifted. It was similar to the day before, and the season in general: chilly nights and warm days.

"Remember, don't do anything too crazy. Just walk around. Fit in and listen. Avoid contact if you can. And make sure to be clear by sunset. I'll meet you two by the pond at dusk." Marcus said. Despite my doubts, I actually had faith. We would slip in and just snoop. We didn't have to steal or sabotage or kill, just listen.

"Hold up. We're here." Marcus whispered, stopping on the edge of a clearing and we got beside him, the three of us hiding in a bush. "There's guards all around the perimeter." He whispered. "But the factory in the back is largely unguarded. If you can get through the locked doors, you should be home free to sneak in."

I spoke up, "I've got a lock pick in my backpack."

"Good." Marcus replied. "Here are your hats, good luck guys." He handed us two red hats and then left, back the way we came.

Once he was out of sight, I put the hat on my head and said, "Let's go." Blaze nodded putting on her cap. It looked as though the camp was set up outside of the factory, but it was much larger than the Sawlite camp. The shadow of the factory shaded the camp. We could see people hustling about, just beyond the fence.

We took Marcus' advice to go through the back. There were guards patrolling the camp, more than at the Sawlites'. Blaze and I crept through the bushes, trying to avoid being seen as we tried to get to the back of the factory. It always seemed like every stick made ten times as much noise when you were trying to be quiet.

But there was some loud rustling nearby. We soon heard the sound of voices to our left. We froze and a large group, about fifteen strong, emerged from the brush. We remained still and silent while the group walked towards the front gate, oblivious to our presence.

Once they passed, I whispered, "Lets make sure to stick together. I don't want either of us getting stuck without the other." She nodded in agreement.

We made it to the rear, and found it unguarded. There was a door that we snuck up to. I reached in my backpack for a lock pick, but Blaze stepped up, turning the knob and the door opened. "Helps to try." She said jokingly. I sighed and led the way into the factory.

Years of disrepair had left the factory in pretty bad shape. "My parents always told me about these places. How they would produce all sorts of things, and in large numbers."

She nodded, though not really interested. I decided to stop talking. There was light shining in behind us and our shadows were long in this abandoned factory. This ramshackle relic of society that existed many years ago. A supposed triumph of civilization now lay in ruin, as though a testeimate to civilization itself, and people rebuilt on the outskirts of what we used to exist in. It wasn't too large however, and we soon found ourselves on the other side of the factory.

We stopped and I turned to her, "Remember the plan. Act natural and don't draw any attention to yourself."

She replied, "Relax, we'll be fine." I nodded and we went to a door, turning the knob and stepping outside...


	8. Interloopers

**Hooray update! Sorry for the wait though. But hey, this update will be my very first from my new laptop. Comment with criticisms of anything except grammar. (Though I would prefer a PM)**

The camp was hustling with activity. The pace seemed far greater than the Sawlite camp. People were packing, cooking, sorting and trying to run a steady operation. Kids were running all over and their parents tried to rope them in. Blaze and I did just as planned, and walked through the crowd. Our entrance was unnoticed by everyone. There was a troop of guards that walked by us, not one gave a second look. We were completely anonymous. We walked through the camp, listening in for something about the Sawlites. But this seemed to be a far thing from their minds though, because the most we picked up was something any people would talk about. Friends, food, and the weather, everything except the Sawlites. We got away from the central area of the camp and towards the perimeter. The guards that patrolled the edge paid little attention.

Except for one, who said to me, "Hey! It's about time someone relieved me." I looked at him, slightly surprised. The man was a pig that lumbered over to me. "I was supposed to be off duty an hour ago."

I stammered, "Oh no, I'm not..."

He replied, "Not what? A guard? Because you know your not allowed to have a weapon if you aren't" he motioned towards my bow.

I said, "Oh no. I meant that I didn't know I was relieving you until a couple minutes ago." I was sweating and shaking a little.

He looked me over, "Hmm...You don't look familiar. Are you a new guard?"

I responded, "Yes I-I became one last week."

He nodded, half convinced, "Ok, I'll leave ya to it rook." And he motioned to the fence before waddling away.

"I guess I'm a guard." I said.

Blaze nodded, "I'll keep spying, you just be a guard."

I nodded, "Ok, be careful."

"Of course." She replied and then walked off, disappearing back into the crowd.

I took my place on the fence line. I spent the greater part of the day guarding. I was bored out of my mind. Nothing happened at all, and it was near dusk that I was finally relieved. An old guard came up and tapped my shoulder. I jumped and turned around, raising my bow.

"Whoa son, easy."

The reason I jumped was because I was half asleep. The old man looked to be well into his sixties and was a ferret.

"I'm sorry, just a little on edge."

He smiled, "It's alright son, you get used to it."

I responded, "I don't know. I just don't see the need for all this guard duty. I get that we need protection, but are the Sawlites our enemies?"

He sighed and said, "I don't know what to tell you son. I remember when the world wasn't this way, and things were so much simpler and yet so complex. No son, I see no reason for the Sawlites and us to fight. But, that's out of my line. I'm just an old man."

I replied, "What was it like before we were enemies?"

He replied, "We never were that close to them, but we never had a problem. They kept to their side, and we to ours. But when that new guy took over. What's his name? Genus? And ever since then, we've been gearing up for war. We attacked their camp a short while ago..."

I interjected, "I know, I was in that attack."

He continued, not wavered in the slightest, "And we've been fighting with them ever since. But yesterday, I heard that in the attack, two people attacked on the side of the Sawlites that we hadn't seen before. They almost single-handedly took out our boys. Genus is panicking now and he has us on our toes, ready for a Sawlite attack."

I inquired more, "Do you think the Sawlites are gonna attack?"

He paused for a moment, "No, no I don't think they will."

I continued, "Do you think we're gonna attack?"

He shook his head, "So long as those two people are on with the Sawlite camp, Genus won't risk an attack, at least, I think he won't. But the truth is, the only thing keeping him in power is the fear of being attacked. People don't take kindly to this war mongering."

There was silence for a moment, before the old man spoke again, "Are you gonna relay all that to the Sawlites now."My eyes went wide, my cover was blown.

I reached for the sword on my belt, but the old man spoke up, "There's no need for that son. I won't give you away, as long as you don't do anything stupid"

I replaced my hand and said, "What gave me away?"

He replied, "I hadn't seen you before, that's why I approached you. And when you said Sawlite, that gave you away. They're just called Saws here."

I nodded, taking his advice, "Why didn't you turn me in?"

He replied, "You're a spy, so they would kill you if they caught you. You're not hurting anyone, so there's no harm caused. And if you give this information back to the Sawlites, maybe they won't attack. Call me naive, but I still have hope for this world."

I smiled at the old man's optimism, it was good to know that I wasn't alone. "Thank you."

He smiled, "Any time. Now get out of here before someone else recognizes you."

I obeyed his advice and hurried off, trying to not look too suspicious. The camp had quieted down, and most people were sitting around fires. But as I walked along the rows of tents, I realized, I had no idea where Blaze was. It was nearly dusk, and we were supposed to meet Marcus by the pond so he could lead us back across the valley, but I couldn't leave without Blaze.

Now in a slight state of panic, I was moving at a slightly quicker pace, trying to figure out what might have happened to her. If she had been captured, I surely would have heard about it, so I figured that she either left or was still undercover.

But when I walked past a break in some tents, someone grabbed me by the arm and pulled me between the tents. I broke free from their grip and drew my sword, only to see Blaze standing there.

"Sorry." I said, "You scared me."

She conceded this and said, "How was your day?"

I replied, "Boring as all hell. But I was just talking to an old man who said that the Factors don't want to fight, but their leader has control through fear."

Blaze replied, "I've been hearing the same thing. This Genus guy, he means business."

I nodded in agreement. "Let's go, time is wasting. We got to meet Marcus by the pond."

I was about to walk back out into the open, back Blaze whispered, "This way" I turned to see her motioning for me to follow her. I turned and we walked the other way, towards the fence. But right before we emerged on the other side, we heard voices and held up. A group of soldiers, moving past us, right to left.

"You thought you could escape us, didn't you. What were you hoping to do, free your comrades. Well now you can join them." One of them said.

A voice spoke up, "No, No it wasn't that...I was here to..."

There was a thud, "Tell it to the interrogator." The first voice said. The voice of the prisoner, though, I recognized immediately as Marcus' voice. And sure enough, a procession of four soldiers and Marcus, arms bound with rope, walked right by us.

I turned to Blaze, "We have to help him."

She shook her head, "No, we got to get out of here. They'll be looking for spies now."

I stood firm, "No, I won't leave him. They'll kill him and we need him to get us back across the valley."

She sighed, "Dammit, fine. What's your plan."

I stood there for a moment, trying to think of something. "Ok, I'll follow them to see where they're holding him, it sounds like they have a few of them held captive. I need you to go to the other side of the camp and make a distraction, like a fire or something."

She looked at me strangely, "Like a fire or something?" She inquired, mocking what I had just said.

I sighed, "You know what I mean. Do something that will draw their attention. I'll bust them out and we'll all meet back at the pond."

Blaze nodded, "Ok."

She was about to run off, but I said, "Wait." She stopped and turned to me. I ran up to her and gave her a hug, "Be safe." She smiled for a moment and ran then off to create her distraction. I had no idea why I had just done that, I had only known her for a couple days. But there was no time for that now.

I turned to go the other way and follow the soldiers. Taking great care to be as quiet and inconspicuous as I could, I stalked after the group. They walked a short distance before reaching their destination: a tent about two rows from the front fence.

"Get in there" One of the guards said, thrusting Marcus into the tent. I decided to stay outside of the tent, out of sight and in the shadows; I was waiting for Blaze's distraction.

A new voice inside said, "Well, what do we have here?" This voice was calm, almost condescending.

Marcus' responded, "Ask your leader, Genus, he knows!"

There was the sound of fist hitting flesh and then the first voice angrily said, "You won't speak of Genus you Saw scum." And then there was a spitting sound.

The condescending voice, now calmed, said, "Now think long and hard. You can either tell us why your here and what you know, and your death will be both quick and painless. We already know that your a spy, just confess so we can make this quick."

Marcus shakily replied, "Please, just let me talk to Genus. He'll explain to you why I'm here and this will all get straightened out."

The condescending voice said, "Or we can do this the hard way. Weeks of torture, all at my hand, and I will extract every secret from this little head of yours. And then, when you feel so close to death, I will leave you, tied to a tree for the buzzards or some other animal to take what's left of you. Now, what's your choice?"

I reached for my sword, ready to jump in and save him from getting hurt even more, or worse, before he exposed Blaze and I.

Marcus finally spoke though, "Ok. Yesterday, your leader met with me and my leader. We agreed to have my leader send in two spies. But not just any two spies, but the two from the other day that jumped in and help us win the skirmish yesterday. I would then show up and expose them to your leader, Genus, who would then take credit for their capture. This would, in turn, legitimize his control over your people."

My eyes went wide upon hearing this and I felt a surge of anger in my head. But at that same moment, there was yelling from the other side of the camp. I looked over and saw flames, towering above the tents. it was Blaze's distraction. There was rustling inside the tent and the whole group that was in there came out and saw the inferno.

One man said, "You! stay here and guard the prisoners. The rest of you, let's go, follow me!" There was the sound of running feet and I saw four men run towards the fire. I crept up by the front of the tent and saw just one guard at the entrance, his gaze distracted. I wanted to let Marcus sit here and rot, but I also wanted answers, so I decided to save him. I unsheathed the knife from my belt and snuck up behind the guard. I then reached out, pressing my knife to him throat and my free hand over his mouth. His breathing quickened and I whispered into his ear.

"Make one move, and I will end you." I then led him back into the tent and used my psychokinesis to levitate some rope on a nearby table over to me. I caught it with my free hand and then used it to bind his wrists behind his back. I took another length and bound his ankles. I then threw him into the corner.

All the commotion made Marcus look up and say, "Silver. Thank goodness it's you."

I had nothing pleasant to say to him though. "You son of a bitch!" I said, lunging at him and punching him in the face.

He realized that I had heard and now began pleading, "Silver please, it's not what you think."

"Save it." I spat. I stood him up, with his wrists already bound, I grabbed him and said, "Let's go." I hesitated a moment, considering saving the other prisoners who were bound, cut up, and asleep in the tent as well, but I couldn't risk them taking his side, so I left them.

I then pushed him out of the tent, which knocked him to the ground. I stood him up and led him to the fence. He looked at me, unsure of how we were both going to scale this ten foot high fence. But I grabbed him with my psychokinesis and lifted the both of us up over the top. I dropped him though, and set myself down softly.

"On your feet." I said, pulling him up and shoving him to start walking, towards the woods.


	9. Answers

**Updates! And they're falling from the sky. Lol not really. Thank you guys for all the positive reviews. I don't think I have a single negative review. Keep at it.**

I had Marcus held at sword point as he led the way to the pond. I didn't say a thing to him, and he didn't dare open his mouth, in fear that I would strike him down there. We beat our way through the bush, which was especially hazardous now that the sun had gone down. A voice rang out in the dark.

"Who's there?" It was Blaze.

"It's me, I have Marcus." I cleared through one more bush, and we were at the pond. Blaze was standing at the ready by the water's edge.

"Why is Marcus still bound?" She asked.

I replied, "This scum was under orders from Miles to turn us over to Genus, to legitimize his control over the Factors."

Blaze blinked, surprised by Marcus' attempted betrayal.

"Is this true?" She inquired from him. He lowered his head in shame.

"Yes." He breathed, tears streaming down his face. "Please don't kill me, I had no idea..."

I cut him off, "That you would get caught!" My voice rang out loud.

"Calm down Silver" Blaze said.

I took a deep breath and said, "I should kill you right where you stand."

He replied, shaking in fear, "It wasn't me. Miles told me to. I was just following orders. Please, have mercy."

I drew my sword, my anger flowing, "I'll show you mercy." I raised my sword.

Blaze jumped in, "Don't Silver. He was following orders. If you're going to be mad, be mad at Miles." I lowered my sword. There were some voices off in the distance, probably Factors, looking for us. "Let's go." Blaze said.

"Where to?" I asked. She replied, "South, out of this valley."

I replied, "Not yet."

She looked surprised, "What? Why?

" I answered, "We need to go back to the Sawlites. Miles has some explaining to do. And you left your pack there. They might even have some supplies"

Blaze replied, "Are you insane? Forget Miles, hang the pack, and we can find supplies." I looked at her, I knew she wanted answers too, but was acting in self preservation. She looked back at me and after a moment, she said, "Fine, you haven't been wrong yet."

I replied, "Thank you. Now let's go." I grabbed Marcus and pushed for him to lead us.

We finally reached the clearing of the Sawlite camp. The three of us crouched in a bush. "Now what?" Marcus said mockingly. "As soon as they see me bound or held at knife-point, they'll kill all three of us."

Blaze said, "Good point." And then hit him over the back of the head to knock him unconscious.

"He is right though." I said.

She replied, "Yes, but now he's our ticket in."

I looked over at her, with a devilish smile. "I like the way you think."

And then heaved the unconscious Marcus over my shoulder and Blaze supported him over her other shoulder. We emerged from the bush and hiked across the field and the guards saw us.

"Who goes there?" A guard asked.

"Silver and Blaze." I said.

Blaze added, "Marcus is unconscious." The guards stepped aside. One kept up with us as we lugged Marcus through the camp.

"He'll be fine." I said. "He just needs somewhere to lie down. We also need to see Miles."

The young guard nervously said, "He's in his tent." The guard peeled off to return to his post. We took Marcus the rest of the way and found Miles, sitting at a table in his tent, stroking his chin

"Miles." I said He turned and saw Blaze and I, supporting an unconscious Marcus.

"Oh my...set him down over here." Miles said, motioning for his bed and clearing a path. We did as he said and then walked back, across the room. "What happened?" Miles said.

I replied, "We were ambushed by the meeting point. Marcus was knocked unconscious." Blaze grabbed her bag, that she had set in the corner, earlier in the day.

"I see." Miles said, "And what did you here on your mission."

I replied, "Nothing much, but it sounds like the Factors don't want to fight."

Miles nodded, "Alright. And, why does Marcus have rope tieing his wrists?" Almost in one swift motion, Miles jumped up, pulling a knife from nowhere and was about to throw it at me, but I saw him freeze and I heard Blaze say, "Drop it."

I turned and saw Blaze, a flame lit in her hand. I turned back to Miles, who let the knife slip from his fingers and fall to the ground. I grabbed a rope off one of the tables and walked over to Miles.

"Careful Silver." Blaze said. I took Miles by his wrists, still raised in the air, and bound them behind his back. I then stripped him from his pistol belt and sat him down in a chair.

"Now talk." I said.

Miles sighed, "You have to understand, I did what I did because I care about my people." He lowered his head and continued, "I assume you already know what was supposed to happen and you want to know why."

I replied, "Yes."

He raised his head, "I told you this morning Silver: we're losing this war. Genus is using it to legitimize his control. I was hoping that the exchange would legitimize it instead. He promised to let us be, if we handed over you two and let him take all the credit. You have to understand, I wasn't going to let my people be slaughtered before my eyes. There was an old saying from before all this happened. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. My friends all understood this an fearlessly risked their lives for hundreds upon thousands of people."

I replied, "There is a difference between risking ones self and being handed over like some trade good."

Miles raised his voice, "And if you two leave, then we will all die!"

I replied, "Then let it be, but I will not die to preserve the madness of this world. Leave this place if you fear for your safety, but don't slaughter unknowing strangers like they were some sort of tool."

He shook his head, "You just don't understand. You don't understand what it means to watch everything that you live for destroyed in front of you...but you will. One day, someone, somewhere is going to take that pretty little existence that you think is so bad and crush it right in front of your eyes. And there will be nothing you can do to stop it." I could only stare at him, with utter coldness.

"Come on Blaze." I said and walked out. Blaze was right behind me. I motioned for her to follow me, south, away from this valley.

We jumped the fence and got clear of the camp without incident, and after about a mile, I stopped to see if we were being followed, we weren't. I was upset with as angry as I had gotten. This whole time, I had been yelling and angry, but Blaze always seemed so calm and collected. I couldn't understand why she kept going with me. We seemed to clash so much, my emotions and naivety clashing with her cool head and maturity.

After a while, I broke the silence. "Why did you turn around?" I asked. I wasn't sure why she did, putting her faith in a complete stranger. And even now, we had only be companions for two days, and we hardly knew each other.

She replied, "You saved my life."

I responded, "Yes, and you were about to leave. What, in that moment when we went separate ways, made you decide to turn around and join me?"

She sighed, "I don't know. I guess it's because of strength in numbers and I decided that maybe you were right, maybe we shouldn't try and take on this world alone." I was unconvinced, but decided to leave it there and that she would tell me in time.

**Sorry that this chapter is kind of short.**


	10. Jackpot

**Hooray! Another update. Thank you guys for all your support and positive reviews. I'm glad that it is enjoyed this much, because you know that I had a ton of fun writing it. Comment and review, although a PM is preferred with criticism, so we may discuss it in depth.**

Dawn broke on the crest of the horizon. I woke up sore, after sleeping on my backpack. And the groans I heard a few feet away made it seem like Blaze didn't sleep much better than I did. Blaze and I were both strung out, only catching a couple winks of sleep after finding a little hollow to bed for what was left of the night. We had gotten a fair distance from the valley where we had spent the last couple days and we finally decided that we were safe to stop. I was still a little shocked at what happened. Miles had seemed so nice, but he was going to turn us over to be executed. I still couldn't help but feel bad that for the Sawlites, knowing that an attack was inevitable against them. But that was their problem. I couldn't just hand Blaze and myself over like that. I did feel bad for the Sawlites, but Miles treated it like he had no other options, when he did.

"Let's get moving." Blaze said, up and ready to go. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and standing up. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and picked up my bow and we walked off, continuing south. We walked most of the morning, and it wasn't until mid day approached that we finally got clear of the wooded area. We were on the edge of another small town, in a backyard of a one story house.

"How about we find a place to rest? Eat something? We missed breakfast?"

She replied, "Sure." We cut through the yard and into the back of the house. The door was falling off the hinges and the house looked to be in serious disrepair. But inside, it seemed to be in decent shape, although it was not an unusual scene, kitchen tore through in search for anything of value. There were two ways, left and right.

"I'll go right." I said and Blaze nodded, and broke off down the left hallway. I walked right and found a locked door. I rolled my eyes and reached into my backpack and pulled out my lock pick. It was a little tool I designed myself. It was made up of seven different lock picks and a couple torsion wrenches, all folded into one convenient tool. Looking to find the right pick, I heard a crash down the hall behind me. It made me jump and turn around.

Blaze poked her head back around the corner and said, "Sorry." I smiled and went back to what I was doing. I found the right pick and after a little working, I heard the lock turn and the door unlocked. I stood up and opened the door, a dining room.

"Who locks a dining room." The room was untouched, there was even a thick layer of dust on all the surfaces. There was a table in the center of the room, and old chandelier, and a couple of alcoves: One had a stereo and the other had a locked cabinet. There was a door on the other side of the room, so I walked over. This door also locked from the inside, so I only had to turn the lock on the knob. I opened the door to walk into the living room. I saw Blaze, sitting on the couch, whose legs had long since collapsed and disintegrated.

"Find anything?" I asked.

She shook her head. "A bedroom that's been tore through and a bathroom that's been completely stripped."

I sighed. "I found a locked cabinet, but I wanted to see what you found first." I motioned for her to investigate with me, which she did. We went back into the dining room. I decided to be blunt with this, so I took out my knife and slid it in the crack between the two doors of the cabinet and flipped the lock open. I opened the doors and saw it to be a fully stocked liquor cabinet.

"Well , well, what have we here?" I said, jokingly. Blaze even laughed a little. I started perusing through the stock. "Looks like this person was fully stocked: vodka, whiskey, gin, rum, wine, and the like."

Blaze added, "This will be worth a lot. Could trade for supplies for winter." I looked over my shoulder at her. She shrugged. I smiled and shook my head. It was strange though, like she was planning for us, for winter.

"I saw a bag back in the bedroom. We can take this stuff with us." And then she walked out of the room, to go fetch a bag. I started to pull the stuff out of the cabinet when Blaze returned with a burlap sack and started to load them in. We must have had at least twenty bottles of the stuff. We went back into the living room and sat down on the decaying couch. The front room was tore up pretty bad. There were some empty bottles of alcohol and the front two windows were smashed in and the door had been taken off its hinges. There was an armchair in the room as well, and it was in even worse shape than the couch. There was a fireplace, but it looked to be sealed up.

"What food do you have?" Blaze finally inquired.

I replied, "Not much that I keep on me. I have some salted meat wrapped up, but I like to keep some spare for when I hit a bad streak hunting."

She nodded, "Ok, anything else."

I rubbed the back of my neck and took off my backpack, searching for some food. "Uhm...I have some dried beans, fruit that I picked, some spices..." I looked at Blaze, who seemed less and less hopeful. "...and this bag of nuts." I pulled out a quart size bag of assorted nuts that I kept with me whenever I came across some nuts in the woods. Walnuts, peanuts, almonds, and some other nuts that I found. Her eyes didn't light up, but she was pleased to see some food. I took a handful from the bag and then offered it to her. She took the bag and I watched as she picked out all the peanuts she could find.

I gave her a strange look and when she saw the look I gave her, she smiled and said, "What? Peanuts are my favorite."

I took the bag back and said, "Well their mine too, but that doesn't mean I only take them." I resealed the bag and put it back in my backpack.

"So what next?" Blaze asked as she chewed on a peanut.

I replied, "Well, I guess we should keep heading south, maybe we'll run into a group of friendly people. And escape the cold."

She nodded. "Good, but I mean like what do we do for food. I mean like, do we have a regular source."

I shook my head, "Not really. I mean, I've never had trouble eating. Winters get a little scarce, but I usually have no trouble getting food. It may not be regular, but I always find something." She gave me a condescending "Mmh-hmm"

I replied. "Well ok, what did you have in mind." I said it more as a joke though.

She replied, "I'm a pretty good scavenger. I had a fishing pole before those three guys captured me. I was hoping you had something better."

I shrugged. "We'll be fine. Hopefully we can trade this stuff..." I made a motion to the bag of liquor. "...and then we shall eat graciously."

No sooner had I said this, a voice from the door said, "I'll make a trade with ya." Blaze and I both looked over to see a bull standing in the door. Blaze and I both reached for swords on our belts. The bull reacted by putting up his hands,

"Whoa there Jack and Jill. I'm not here to fight. I was just hoping to make a little trade concerning your uhh...alcohol." Blaze and I removed our hands from the handles of our swords and I motioned for him to come in. The black haired, mountain of a being strolled in and flopped down on the remnants of the armchair. His fur was unkept and he looked kinda mean. He had scars on his face and a ring in his nose.

I spoke first, "What do you have to trade?"

He took off his pack and started going through it. "I have some salted pork, mess kit, knives, pain killers, arrow heads, and...this salt." He set the stuff out in front of us and motioned for us to browse. Blaze motioned for him to look in the bag of bottles, which he right ahead did. He didn't have much for us. We knew he'd want to much for the pain killers, of which I already had. I didn't need salt, I had plenty. The arrow heads he had were of poor quality, we both had a mess kit. The salted pork and the knives were of interest.

I whispered into Blaze's ear. "I'm thinking for the knives and the salted pork, three bottles."

She whispered back, "No go on the pain pills and salt."

I replied, "Nah, he'll want to much and I have both in my bag." She pulled her head away and nodded.

The bull finished his browsing and said, "See anything ya like?"

I replied. "Yeah, the pork and knives for three bottles. Your choice."

He pondered for a moment and said, "Tell ya what. Because you both seem real nice, deal." He reached in the bag to take his three bottles and I grabbed the salted pork and knife set.

He sat back up, three bottles of whiskey in hand and said, "It's nice to meet some sensible people once in a while." But when he sat back up, his sleeve fell and on his wrist, a large "W" was burned into his skin.

I recognized it instantly and said. "You have a brand. Where from?" I already knew the answer. Anyone that ran with him got that brand, to show loyalty. That was the brand of William the Badger, aka Wild Will. He was feared across the lands and the monster that took my family.

The bull replied, "What? This ole thing? I used to be a member of Wild Will's gang. But I bugged out about a year ago."

I inquired more, keeping a straight face and picking up one of the knives to examine it, "Why'd you leave?"

He replied, "The old bastard was getting soft, so I left. Why? Is that a problem."

I was now floating the knife with my psychokinesis. "No, not a problem at all..." And, without hesitation, I used my powers to run that steel blade through his forehead.

Blaze jumped back in shock and I stood up, taking the stuff he had laid out. "Keep your knife you filthy son of a bitch." I said before walking to the door.

I stopped in the doorway and said, "Take the rest of the stuff and lets get out of here."


	11. A Bad Memory

**Don't look now...it's another update. Comment and review, but PM is preferred.**

"What the hell was that?!" Blaze yelled, running to catch up with me. I had already made my way across the street and out-of-town. She was laden down with the bag of alcohol and the bull's stuff.

I replied, "I'll tell you later."

She caught up to me. "No, I want to know now before I spend a night asleep near a sociopath."

I replied, "I'll tell you tonight. The day is young too for stories. I wont hurt you, but I do need you to trust me. If you knew what Wild Will did to me and my family, you would understand."

Blaze retorted, "I know who Wild Will is. He's bad, but that's no reason to kill someone who used to be a part of his gang." I didn't say anything after that. We walked the rest of the day, neither of us saying a word. We finally settled by a creek for the night and set up our camp. We still hadn't said a word and communicated through body language only.

Blaze was going through his pack and finally broke the silence, "Besides the stuff he had set out for us, it doesn't look like he had much." My back was turned to her, facing the river.

"What did he have?" I asked.

She replied, "Looks like a moldy old blanket, a canteen, another bottle of whiskey, and some more salted pork."

I replied, "Put the whiskey with the others, I'll fill the canteen, and light a fire so we can have some dinner. That pork looks real nice." She did what I said, tossing me the canteen. I went down by the creek to refill the canteen. I wasn't sure what I was going to tell her. I did kill that guy in cold blood, but he deserved it, they all did. I resealed the canteen and walked back to Blaze, who had lit a fire and was unwrapping the salted pork. I sat down, now facing her, but she didn't look at me. The silence was awkward, but I knew Blaze wanted answers.

I finally broke the silence. "You want to know why I killed him?"

She looked at me, now with interest. "I was hoping you would explain."

I nodded, "Yeah, it's not a memory I enjoy recalling." She set the pork on the tin plate down and gave me her full attention. I sighed before saying, "Ten years ago..."

_FLashback_

_I was in our tent, reading, like my mother told me, like I did every day. My mother was cooking dinner and my father was sharpening some tools. This calm scene was shattered by the sound of a bow twang and the thud of a body hitting the ground. I heard my mother scream my father's name. I poked my head out of the tent and saw three men: a goat, a squirrel, and a badger. All three looked disgusting. The goat and squirrel attacked my mother. But the badger saw me and ordered the goat after me. I went back in the tent and he reached in to grab me. He got a hold of my shirt and I bit his hand. He yelped and tore the tent wide open, and now grabbed me with both hands and threw me out. Now on my hands and knees, he kicked me again. The squirrel came to help while the badger held my mother. One held me while the other kicked me, though I do not remember which. My mother screamed and pleaded with them to stop. Their beating on me halted and they dragged me by my hair to a nearby tree to tie me up, next to where my father lay dead, arrow straight through his chest. I was then forced to bear witness to the badger and then the goat and finally the squirrel all take turns with my mother, who was helpless to defend. After they finished having their way with her she laid on the ground, broken, and I watched as the badger triumphantly stood over her and then drew out a sword and ran it through her throat. He now came over to me and knelt down to my face. "Do you want to die?" he hissed at me. I was so furious, I spit in his face. I didn't know that I just spit in the face of Wild Will. He then struck me on the face with the back of his hand, and spit right back in my face. He then took a large knife off of his belt and ripped my shirt open. He then proceeded to carve a large W into my chest. The three of them ransacked the camp and burned it to the ground, and left me tied to that tree. But what he didn't count on was my psychokinesis. I had only been practicing a little, but I focused on a knife my father was working on. And after a couple of minuets, I was able to float the knife over to me and use it to escape my bonds._

_End Flashback_

"I've been on my own over since, but I have hated Will for what he did, and anyone that is or was allied with him was just as bad and would receive the same end." Blaze's look of horror was softened when I finished the story.

She took my hand and said, "I'm sorry that happened to you."

I sighed, "There's nothing anyone could have done. I'll understand if you don't want to stay with a wreck like me. Half of this is yours if you want to go."

She shook her head, "No, no I understand now. I'm staying."

I smiled and nodded, "I saved you because my mother was a cat. And I couldn't bare to have it happen to you"

She looked at me, not surprised at all, "I joined you because you're the only person to ever take the time and help me; the only person to ever care about me."

I replied, "Well of course I do, you're my friend, right?"

She laughed a little, "You're so naive...but I like that about you."

From then on out, Blaze and I grew close. We became best friends, and partners in this wrecked world. We continued south and our luck improved. We came across a group that was happy to trade for our alcohol. We got a bow with arrows, food, spices, cloth, and utensils. I also offloaded some of the pills I had found back when I first met Blaze and traded them all for a compass. A couple months went by and winter began to set in. The trees lost their leaves and the air grew even cooler. Food became scarcer, and while I never had trouble feeding myself, now there was two of us. So, in greater need for food, I taught Blaze to shoot a bow. Blaze was a natural with a bow, almost as good as me, even though she said she never used one before. I taught her how to hunt and she was good at it. She had a natural patience about her, and hunting suited her well.

I also began to feel different about Blaze. She was very pretty, not something I haven't noticed before. But I realized how well our personalities complimented each other. We made a great team. And, naturally, I began to fall in love with her. Love was something that was almost forgotten in this world. People didn't know what the word meant anymore. I had seen my parents, and that's how I knew what love is. Caring for someone, beyond the levels of normal friendship. Wanting to, not just spend time with someone, but to share life with them. To live for someone and grow old with them. It was a foreign concept to me, but I understood it and I was certain that's what I was in. I just wasn't sure what to do next.

**I know the speech at the end of the chapter is kind of vomit inducing, but it a large part of the story.**


	12. A Place to Rest

**Can I buy and update? In fact you can. Comment, review, and PM.**

I pushed my way through the bush and came back out to the clearing from earlier this morning. I didn't see Blaze at all, and I thought I was running late. But it was dark earlier and the snowy, overcast skies made it hard to tell what time of the day it was. Time was guess work, all a matter of opinion. She was supposed to be coming across the small meadow, west of where I was standing. We split earlier in the morning to go hunting. I went east and she went west to each find spots to sit. I didn't have any luck, though, perhaps she did. It was a cold day, cold enough for snow. It was pretty light though, only about halfway up my boots since the previous night. I waited for a few more minutes before I saw her figure moving through the barren trees. I waved to get her attention and she waved back.

She came across the field and greeted me. "Sorry I'm late. That walk was a lot quicker in the dark."

I nodded, "Nothing?"

She replied, "Not even a squirrel. Shall we?"

I replied, "Shall we?" And we walked south. We walked for at least an hour until we reached an old, dirt road. It went east-west in front of us and directly across the road, was another road with a mailbox. And where there was a mailbox, there was usually a house.

"Should we take a look?" I said.

"If it's secluded like this, we might find something." She responded. And we walked across the dirt road and towards the house. The walk was long, it felt like at least five minutes. But, finally, we saw a solid form ahead. A two story house. There was also a shed next to it. A little country cabin, hidden from view. We walked up the stoop to the front door and knocked to see if anyone lived there. It wasn't normal our normal routine to knock, but isolated homes were an exception. There was no answer, so we knocked again. The building looked to be in good shape from the front, windows were intact, structure looked good, and the place looked uninhabited. Again with no answer, I tried the knob and found it, not surprisingly, locked. Blaze was already on it, and reached into my backpack to hand me my lock pick. I took it and after just a little fiddling, unlocked the door. No words, though. When investigating a house, our communication was non-verbal, until we were sure it was safe. We learned this the hard way when a senial man attacked Blaze after she said something that startled him when he was sleeping. We were in a living room. There was a closed door to the right, a couch and two armchairs, as well as a fireplace. And it looked like a kitchen was across the way and a ladder was next to the entrance the the kitchen, and another door was on the left wall, also by the kitchen. I motioned to Blaze, two fingers and then hands together, which meant to check the closed door. I then signaled index finger up, that I was going to be checking the space at the top of the ladder. She nodded to confirm and we went our own directions.

I heard Blaze check the first door as it creaked open, but I didn't bother to look, I just walked across the room to the upper space. I reached the base of the ladder, but decided that it was safer to levitate myself up to the top. I had my hand on my sword, but when I could see up, I saw a double size bed and a dresser. I heard the door close below and I levitated myself back down, it was Blaze, done investigating her two rooms. We now lined up, backs to the wall on either side of the kitchen entrance. It all seemed a little formal, but we had been burned before, and weren't going to risk it. I motioned my thumb in and she nodded. I then counted down with my fingers: three, two, one...and I rushed in, sword drawn and Blaze was behind me, her bow raised. But the excitement was unnecessary, it was just a kitchen and another door. She snapped her finger to draw my attention to a door that led out into the back and a door next to it that I wasn't sure where it led. Her bow was still raised, so I had to investigate, while she covered me. So, ever so quietly, I crept over to the door and tried the knob, my sword still raised. It was unlocked and I flung it open, to reveal a pantry with food, some of it molded and spoiled, some of it possibly still good.

Blaze walked up behind me and looked over my shoulder. "Looks like we found a nice place to rest." She said.

I nodded, closing the pantry. "What did you see?" I asked.

"A closet and a bathroom. I assume you found the bedroom." I nodded. We walked back into the living room to examine the place. I stopped in the archway while Blaze went to close the door to keep the heat from escaping. The house was almost entirely intact, save a thick layer of dust. The couch and chairs were in great shape, and the bed looked even better. Blaze then went about examining the the closet. I decided to further investigate the loft. I climbed the ladder this time and I crawled up into the loft space. There was a bed and a dresser. I decided to investigate the dresser first and found some old cloths, still in good shape, but a couple sizes to big for me. The top drawer of the dresser even had blankets. I then looked at the bed, and couldn't help myself. I set my stuff down and jumped on the bed, spreading out. It was too nice. I had never been in a bed this nice before.

I laid there for a moment before I heard Blaze say, "Having fun?" I looked over at the ladder and saw Blaze, halfway up into the loft, leaning on the ledge.

I sat up, "In fact, I am. What did you find."

She chuckled a little and then tossed me a bottle, "Just these painkillers, put them with the others." I nodded and threw the bottle by my backpack.

"I could get used to this, Blaze, I tell you."I said.

Later that night, we had secured the cabin and found anything of value. We now both sat on the couch, dinner fresh in our stomachs and watching the flames of the fire die.

"I think we should settle in for the winter. It's only gonna get colder from here." Blaze said.

"I agree, what were you thinking. Try and get further south so the winter won't be as bad."

Blaze shook her head, "I was hoping for right here. Walking a little more won't help much. We have a nice place we found here, and in great condition. If there's a town nearby, just as secluded as this, we could live here for a long while."

I shrugged, "I guess, it is really nice."

She added, "We can hunt, you know. And I saw a couple fishing rods in the closet, so there must be a source of clean water."

I replied, "We're about to be covered in feet of frozen water, I'm not worried about hydration."

She laughed and replied, "You're so naive, I meant clean water to fish in."

I replied, "I know, I just like testing you." We didn't say much after that. We just sat there on the couch, enjoying each other's company and watching the flames in the fireplace die. It was moments like this that I knew I loved her. I just wanted to be near her, we didn't have to do anything, other than sit quietly, together. I wanted to tell her too, soon. I wasn't sure how she felt about me though. I was her friend, but she never hinted or even seemed slightly interested in romantic involvement. I had to tell her, she needed to know how I felt, even if she didn't feel the same way, there couldn't be secrets between friends. What's the point of friendship if you're going to hide things from each other. While I sat there, turning this over in my mind, I felt Blaze finally give in to sleep and her head fall over onto my shoulder. It had been a long day, so I wasn't surprised she was out so quick. She didn't seem too comfortable, though, so I took a pillow that I had been resting my feet on and set it in my lap and then, carefully, laid Blaze's head down on it. Her body naturally pulled her legs up, onto the couch and she curled up. Now I sat there, her head in my lap, completely at ease. I stoked her fur and she began to purr.

And after a little while, the purring turned to snoring. The fire began to get real low until there was almost no light and a new wave of snow storms moved in, this time with some more intense wind. The increased noise of the wind on the window seemed to upset her and she began to grow restless. So I decided to move her into the bed in the loft, away from the window. It would be warmer up there anyways. So I leaned over and put one arm under her knees and the other arm supported her head. She shifted a bit, but snuggled further into my arms, turning her head into my chest. I carried her over to the ladder, but levitated both of us up into the loft, setting my feet down and walking over to the bed. I, again, used my psychokinesis to flip over the covers and set her down. I then manually re tucked the covers. The bed was designed for two, but I felt it to be inappropriate to share a bed with her. I pulled the ponytail from her hair to let it down and then brushed it out of her face. It was then time for me to take my leave, but I couldn't I stood there, transfixed by her beauty. She was amazing: calm, brave, wise, and smart. But I was a mess: naive, rash, and awkward. She could do so much better than me. But I would always have her as a friend and my little secret affection would stick to me for as long as I knew her.

But in that moment, something compelled me. I knew she was asleep and wouldn't hear me, but I knew it would make me feel better just to say it.

"I love you." I whispered. She didn't even stir. I sighed, but decided to do something a bit more. I leaned down, almost not in control of my actions, and I kissed her cheek.

"Good night Blaze, sleep well."

Now satisfied, but disappointed in myself, I turned back towards the ladder. But just as I was about to descend, I heard Blaze say, "Silver?"

I froze and nervously said, "Yes Blaze?"

I turned to face her and saw her sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Where are you going?"

I replied, "Back down, I was going to sleep on the couch. I just felt you'd be warmer and more comfortable up here."

She replied, "Nonsense, if there is anyone around here who needs warmth, it's you. Come on, you can sleep with me." She patted the other side of the bed.

I said, "I don't think it's really appropriate."

She replied, "You're so naive...it's no problem. Two friends can share a bed. Now get in here before I make you." Not wanting too argue further, I did as I was told. Taking off my sweatshirt jacket and climbing into the other side of the bed. I laid under the covers, my back turned to Blaze. We laid in silence for a while, I though Blaze had fallen back to sleep. I felt my eyes getting heavy as well.

But just as I was beginning to peel off, Blaze said, "Silver?" I didn't respond at first, not sure what to say. I was worried that she hadn't been asleep earlier. I knew that she knew I was awake though, so there was no hiding.

"Yes Blaze." I said.

"Do you mean it?" I felt my muscles tighten up, she had heard.

"How much did you hear?" I asked.

"I was never asleep." She replied. Another thing to her credit, she was shrewd, and very clever. I sighed and rolled over to face her. She was already turned over and facing me, which caught me off guard.

"Yes, I did mean it. I love you Blaze." She smiled, reaching out with her hands and grabbing the sides of my head and pulling my lips to hers for a kiss. It was the greatest feeling that I had ever felt so far. My lips to hers, and holding nothing back. I felt her tongue force entry into my mouth, and I was in heaven to comply. We remained locked for what felt like an eternity, and I prayed it to last forever. Sadly, she broke our lock and pulled back.

"I love you too Silver. I just never knew how to tell you." I took initiative now, pulling her back into me and locking our lips again. This game of tug and pull lasted most of the night, as we kissed and cuddled, exchanging confessions of the love we now shared. For a moment, at least for the night, I wasn't in a horrible world. I was in a heavenly place, safe in my lovers arms. And for once, everything was fine...just fine.

**Don't forget to tune in next time for another edition, featuring a cameo appearance of yet another main series character. (No, it is not Shadow)**


	13. Shocking DIscoveries

**I owe all my readers an apology for being away for so long. It's been very busy for me these past few weeks...but I'm back, at least for a day. Don't forget to PM me with criticism, please, anything at all (other than grammar/spelling). If you're a guest, what are you waiting for? Membership is free, easy, and quick. It will entitle you too all sorts of benefits such as favoriting and following stories for quick access. PM with other members for communication. And of course, the ability to publish here. So, what's your excuse?**

My eyes were slow to open the next morning. I could still feel Blaze, asleep in my arms. I looked to my left and saw Blaze, fast asleep, face buried into my shoulder. It was light in the cabin, so I knew I overslept. I didn't want to get up, but I had to. Taking ever so great care not to disturb Blaze, I slid out from underneath her and got out of the bed, re-tucking her under the covers. My first mistake was getting out of bed, because I hadn't realized how cold I was now that I was away from Blaze's body heat that remained trapped by the covers. The rush of cold air made me shiver I felt the hairs on my skin raise up a little. I quickly grabbed the sweatshirt that I had set aside the night before and put it on, my second mistake. Being away from my body and on the floor, it had an entire night to cool down to room temperature, which was cold at that. At that moment, I wanted to climb back into bed, but after a moment, the jacket began to warm up a bit and I felt a returned motivation to do something with the day.

As quietly as I could, I crept down the ladder, into the living room. I was surprised that there wasn't a layer of ice on everything, though it was defiantly colder than up in the loft. I walked over to the window to see how much snow had fallen in the night. I was not surprised to see a fresh blanket, it looked to be up to my ankles, but I couldn't tell for certain, nor did I care enough to test. It had been a while since I had last eaten, Blaze and I had an early dinner the night before. I walked back into the kitchen and opened the pantry. The one place Blaze and I didn't check, since we figured the food to be spoiled, I decided to try anyways. Sometimes we got lucky and found something dehydrated, food which, when stored in the right conditions, lasted thirty years. All we needed to do was add water. In the pantry, I didn't find much promise. The only thing not spoiled was a plastic container of instant pasta. A little bit of boiling water and three minutes over a fire, bang, one quick and easy meal. This put a smile on my face, but I didn't want to waste them on something as trivial as breakfast when we had plenty of extra food. I set the container on the table and investigated further.

Now on my hands and knees, scanning the boxes of food on the floor, I found nothing was unspoiled. But, feeling around with my hands, I felt my hand hit something metallic that was attached to the floor. It immediately caught my attention, and when I ran my hand over it again, it felt like a large hinge. My eyes went wide, because I may have found a secret chamber. I felt along horizontally for a second hinge and found my fingers running along a groove that shouldn't have been there. I found the second hinge and knew I was on to something. Now in search of the handle, I began pulling boxes and bags out of the pantry, in search of the entrance. I continued to feel along the groove, all the way around on the floor, forming a square. I didn't find a knob, but right in the middle, where my hand came back together, there was a nail, oddly sticking out of the floor. I gave one tug on the nail and the whole square that I traced out in the dust of the floor jerked, I had found the handle.

I knew that a door this well hidden must have had something great on the other side. I pulled at the nail again and found the door to be rather heavy, but nothing that I couldn't handle. (no pun intended) The door flung up, making an obnoxiously loud creaking, and revealing a small staircase that lead down to what appeared to be a small storage room, as I could see shelves on three sides. I took the treacherous five steps down into the cellar. I felt around on the shelf down below and found that whatever was being stored was soft, and protected by plastic. I couldn't tell what I was looking at, because it was too dark, so I brought a sample back up into the light of the kitchen. When it was light enough to read, i read it as _Hedblooms freeze dried eggs. _My eyes went wide upon reading this. I turned it over to check the date. I wasn't sure of the day, but I had kept the year and the eggs I found were still good for three more years. I had to be sure of my find, but I felt my heart racing with excitement. I ran back down into the cellar and brought up an armful of packets from off one of the shelves. I laid them out on the table. I perused over them, looking for confirmation, and everything was there. Freeze dried eggs, milk, soy, flower, beans, and many more.

I was so excited, I screamed, "OH MY GOD!" As soon as I screamed, I heard a thud above me and running, a quick hustle down the ladder and a run into the kitchen...I woke Blaze.

"What's wrong Silver!?" I saw her standing in the doorway, flame in her palm, but she extinguished it when she saw that there wasn't any danger.

"It's the motherload!" I said.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. I grabbed a packet off the table to show it to her. She couldn't read, but she knew what it was.

"How much?" She asked.

"Three shelves." I replied. She stared at me for a minute, and then rushed at me, wrapping me tight in a hug.

"This is incredible!" She said, now excited as I was.

"I know!" I replied. We embraced each other, knowing we were set. All the freeze dried food that was there, we would have enough food to last the winter.

Food always was a problem, especially in winter. It was always a question of whether we would have enough, and it was always hanging over our heads. But no longer, we now had enough food until the thaw by my reckoning. We spent the next couple hours retrieving and organizing all the freeze dried food. There was everything: meat, grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Missing breakfast, I made us lunch instead: Salted pork and re-hydrated milk. The milk wasn't as good as fresh milk, but it was something.

"I was thinking..." I said between bites. "...that we should go for a walk this afternoon. Down the road, to see where it leads."

She nodded, "Alright, sounds like a good plan." We finished our food and then dressed ourselves up with some heavier clothing and headed out the door, locking it behind us. We walked back towards the road, side by side. Blaze had made sure lock the door so nobody would be able to take our newly acquired goods by just turning the nob. The pristine, fresh fallen snow shined like glass. There was a distinct bite in the air, colder than usual for this time of year. It made me a little uncomfortable, but I was alright. Blaze sensed this and took my hand. I instantly felt my body warming to a much more comfortable level. I looked at her, but her eyes remained front facing. A little smile formed on her face though. At the road, we had a choice of left or right, and we chose left, setting off down the road, not sure of what we were going to find down there.

We weren't walking for long, though, and soon found ourselves on the outskirts of an abandoned town. "Let's start over there." I said, pointing to a church right by us, on the left.

She let go of my hand an motioned for me to lead the way, which I did without objection. The church, which I was sure to have been sealed for quite some time, had a nasty stink of dampness that caused me to skip a few breaths. The effect was worse on Blaze, who had a more sensitive nose. We dealt with it though, walking through the church, up towards the altar. There was a bottle of wine underneath it, but nothing more. There was, however, some words craved into the face of the podium. _"Mathew 16:26"_

Almost instinctively, I recited the passage, which I knew by heart. "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

Suddenly, almost like clockwork, there was a slight rumbling and the podium began to slide with a section of the floor. This caused both Blaze and I to jump back in surprise. A secret passage was revealed to us. We looked at each other and I shrugged, walking over to investigate. Down below was dark and we had a ladder to descend. I climbed down the ladder and Blaze was right behind me. It was pitch black at the bottom, but even though I couldn't see, I could tell that something was off. The floor was metallic. I stepped out of the way so Blaze could get down as well.

I heard Blaze's feet clank on the metallic floor and I said, "Light?" Not a moment later, Blaze lit a flame in her palm, illuminating the room. But rather a room, it was a corridor: the walls, floor, and ceiling all made of metal. We decided to investigate further down the corridor and began walking away from the ladder. We only walked a short distance before we could see an end, a room with something inside it. We walked a little further and through the doorway. There was a sort of screen on the wall opposite the door and a table with buttons on it. We looked around the room and were startled by what we saw. On a bed, leaning up against the wall was a skeleton with a large hole in it's skull and something in it's right hand. I recognized the thing in the skeleton's hand almost immediately though. I walked over and removed it from the hand.

"What is that?" Blaze asked.

"My parents told me about something like this. It was able to shoot a projectile ten times faster than an arrow and with a much greater range. I think they called it a gun."

Blaze looked it over from a distance and asked, "How do you think it works?"

I replied, "I think my dad said that you had to pull this in." I motioned to a lever next to what looked like the handle." I shrugged and put it in my bag. I was more intrigued by the screen and table with the buttons. I walked up to it and began pushing some buttons but nothing happened. Blaze also took the liberty to look around the room. After a moment though, there was a sound of some metal gears working and all of a sudden the room came to life. Light began to be emitted from spots on the ceiling and the screen lit up as well. I turned to Blaze who was looking around, fascinated by what happened.

"What did you do?" I asked.

She looked at me and shrugged, "I just flipped a switch." I turned back to the screen which was lighting up and began to display words.

And after a moment it even began to speak, "Good day Dr. Eggman."

"Dr. Eggman?" I looked over to the skeleton and put the pieces together. "Ahhh, I see." I turned to Blaze. "We found a secret hideout."

She nodded, "Kinda figured that out Silver." The screen now had a list displayed on it, at the top there was "_Pick one"_ I perused the list over before reading on that caught my particular interest.

"The last testimate of Dr. Ivo Robotnick?" As soon as I said it, the screen went black and then displayed a picture of the room we were standing in, but there was also a picture of a fat, balding man. He looked terrible, as though he hadn't slept in days.

He then began to speak. "In my reflection over the past few days, I have come to regret what I have done. I finally thought my time had come. That I would be able to erase the sins of the old world and begin my new world. But I was unprepared for the horrors the virus would cause. And I have become sickened by my deeds. If only there were a way to undo this, to go back in time and prevent myself from releasing the disease. Sadly there is not, at least, not anymore. Yes my final victory over that annoying blue hedgehog Sonic initially carried a sense of triumph although it now has sunk into regret with the rest of my memories. Shadow still possesses the inherent power, of course, but he can't do it alone and even he seems to have sunk into lethargy over the loss of the lovely Miss Rouge. My time is winding down now and with each passing hour, my grandfather's old revolver seems to become a better and better friend. To the person that discovered this, I hope the rebuilding of the world, if that is the case, is going well. And I want it to be known that I am sorry for what i have done. This does not even begin to give retribution to all that I have done, but it is a start. MY computer will deposit my chaos emerald after this recording finishes. I have no idea if it will be of any use to you, but I know that it is of no further use to me. Dr. Eggman, signing off..."


	14. What Now?

**I have spent the last few days reflecting my writing. Pouring over it trying to see what I could improve on. And I realize that I owe all of you an apology. I act like I want to get better yet I have hardly improved at all. I haven't given my best effort, and you all deserve it from me. My disregard for basic editing, literary fallacies, and just poor writing is insulting to you all. I have seriously considered giving up writing. But I decided not to, not yet at least. I'm giving myself a chance to redeem myself. To devote more time and effort to writing. I have been reading on things that I can do to improve my writing and I hope that this next chapter is a sort of "fruit of my labors".**

Blaze's eyes stared deep into mine. Both of us shocked by what we had just heard, and still so many questions. My jaw moved a little, as though I was about to say something. But a churning sound from within the machine that had just displayed this strange man caught both of our gazes. I stepped back in fear that it may explode as Blaze and I stood on our nails waiting to see what would happen. The machine now had a part extend from its base to present an object, a large gem. A hypnotizing glow was emitted from the gem as I felt my hand extend to grab the gem.

"Careful Silver." I heard Blaze say from over my shoulder. I disregarded her comment and took the gem in my hand, fitting perfectly into my palm, it was warm to the touch. I brought it closer as a green shade of light emitted from it. I was mystified, stunned by the sheer beauty of this gem. I had never seen anything like it. So flawless, and perfectly cut, as though it were crafted in the heaven so that mortal like myself may begin to comprehend the wonder of what awaited us in the next life. I held it up to the light and inspected it from every angle, and was unable to find a single flaw with this marvel of creation.

My moment of bliss was abruptly ended by Blaze tapping on my shoulder and saying my name.

I turned around to meet her eyes and explained, "I'm sorry. I was distracted by this wondrous gem."

She replied, "Do you know what it is?"

I replied, "No. I think that the guy on the screen called it a chaos emerald." I then continued to examine the gem.

Blaze also looked at it, "I thought so. My parents told me about something like this. They said that these "chaos emeralds" had some sort of great power. There are supposed to be seven and they can turn your thoughts into power."

I now looked at the emerald, slightly perplexed as I quietly repeated, "Turns your thoughts...into power." I felt myself falling into a sort of trance again, and Blaze caught this, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Hey...there will be plenty of time for gawking later. Right now we need to think of our next move." I put the emerald into my bag, agreeing with Blaze that we needed a new plan.

"Let's get out of here. I can't stand this stench much longer." I really didn't mind, but I had to say something. My thoughts were still on that gem. It had formed a picture clearly in my mind.

She nodded in agreement, although her face still showed doubt. The corner of her mouth turned up slightly, while her eyebrows bent down and her eyes squinted a bit.

"Come on." I said, and motioned for her to lead the way, which she did. I was about to follow her, but stopped in the doorway. I looked over at the skeleton of the doctor and sighed. I walked over to his lifeless remain and knelt down by his side. "I hope you found the peace that you wanted in this life." I was silent then, praying for the soul of this misguided madman.

But the peaceful silence was broken by Blaze calling my name from down the corridor, "I will leave you down here Silver." Not wanting to test her, I jumped up and ran towards the exit, the light at the other end of the corridor guiding me.

Reaching the ladder rather promptly, I climbed up and out. Blaze was leaning on the podium, face in her hands.

"Something wrong?" I asked, standing up. She didn't respond.

"Blaze." I said, with a sharper tone. She still didn't respond. I walked over to her, cautious so as not to aggravate her further.

"Blaze I know you can here me. What's the matter?"

She finally spoke, although her voice was very quiet. "What are we doing?"

I replied, "Come again?" She turned around and changed her tone to a much harsher sense.

"What are we doing! This world is just the construct of a madman, that's all it ever was! All it ever seems to be is just an endless stretch of death and destruction. And for what? To survive another day? Why are we even wasting time with this! This world won't get better, it can only ever get worse!" She now set about pacing in a fanatical pattern.

"Blaze, you need to calm down."

She looked at me with fury, "Why should I calm down? It makes me fit in much better with the madness of this world. Who cares, this world is full of selfish, evil people and their selfish, evil ways. So please, for what possible reason should I calm down?!" She now stood only inches from me. Her brow furrowing and her lip quivering. There was an inferno burning in her eyes and a pain in her heart.

"Because I can't stand to see you like this." I said. There was a harsh silence for a moment, I could tell that she was running it through her head, trying to understand my naive reasoning. She started to laugh, but not in enjoyment, but a rather cruel manner.

"Oh that's just typical. The naivety is showing again. I ask you for a legitimate reason that I should calm down and you give me that!? Are you joking? Tell me you're joking...no, huh! I can't believe that I've spent the last months following you. I must be more naive than you. You really don't seem to get it, do you? This isn't the place for naivety. You need to take charge sometimes, but you don't. Instead you just make up some naive excuse. Did your parents never teach you how to be mature?"

Now my brow was furrowing. "You have no right to bring them into this!" I shouted back, pacing frantically, trying to calm my anger.

She scoffed this time, "I have every right, because it seems to me that they failed, miserably."

I was furious. She could say what she wanted about me, but my parents were off limits. "Like yours did any better. Did they ever love you at all? Because it seems as though you have no idea what the word means!" We both stood still, our eyes locked to each other. For a moment, I thought she was going to attack me.

But instead, "Fuck you." She said. And walked to the front of the church. She pushed the doors aside as I stood there, still froze in place. I wanted to move, but I couldn't bring my legs to move. But when the door slammed shut again, I broke out of my paralyzed state and realized what I just said. I ran after her, back outside. She was walking the direction opposite that we came from and didn't look back.

I called after her, sprinting to try and catch up. "Blaze wait! I'm sorry! Please don't go." I desperately yelled, all in vain.

She started running then, and I knew there was no use chasing her, she was much faster than me. I stood there and watched her fade out of view. Tears were streaming down my face, and I lost the strength to stand. I crumbled to my knees; I didn't know what else to do. My cries for Blaze to come back turned to sobs. I remained in that spot for a good while, how long? I'm not sure, it felt like almost no time and it made me want to keep waiting. But it must have been hours, because the light began to fade and snow, fall.

Knowing I would freeze if I stayed out, I gathered what remained of my pride and picked myself up off the ground. I still didn't want to go, still holding onto the fool's hope that she would turn around and come back. But I knew there was no stopping her. She was often collected, but when her emotions took hold, there was no use with reason. Finally coming to some senses, I turned for home. The journey back felt like an endless road, paved in sorrow. I had never felt so alone in my life. To finally let someone back in my life, after so many years. To finally make me care and have more hope for my life than I had in years, and then just turn and leave like she did. So easily, so quickly. Did she even care at all? Was I really her friend, or was I just a means to an end? These thoughts plagued my mind the whole way back. Snow kept falling and the wind picked up. The night encroached upon the day and the cold was close behind.

But my pilgrimage did not last long, as I soon saw the outline of the cottage in the snow. Our footprints were filling in with fresh snow, making it seem as though we never walked there, and what proof would remain that we ever walked together at all? I opened the door and stepped inside, throwing my bag down by the door, lighting a fire and then flopping out on the couch. I thought about food, but I couldn't pull myself off of the couch. I just sat there, staring at the door, hoping that she would come through it and we would be together again. These last few hours without her had been particularly tolling on myself. I had forgotten what it was like to be alone. I knew she was out there, somewhere. She had probably found a hollow and bedded down for the night. But out in that snow, no supplies, my sadness was replaced by concern. I was plagued by an image of Blaze, frozen to the bone, face down in a snowbank. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get the image out of my mind, even still, she meant so much to me. The snow began to fall harder and the wind began to howl, this only worsened the image in my mind. I began to cry, the thought of her suffering was enough to break my heart. Gone or not, I still loved her and I should have been out, trying to find her and beg her to come back, but I'd never find her. With the time that had already passed, I'd never find her.

I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but as time dragged on, I felt my eyes grow heavy with sleep and I began to doze off. But just as I was about to be accepted into the warming embrace of slumber. But not a moment later, I was roused by the sound of the nob of the door turning and the door opening to reveal a figure. I recognized the form almost instantly, "Blaze?" I said in shock. She stepped inside and into the light of the fire where I could see her clearly. She had a blank expression, but her eyes were focused on me. Ice had begun to form on the tips of her whiskers and she was shivering hard. She was in a daze, I could tell, but I was at a loss for words myself. "Are you alright?" I asked, sitting up. She dropped a bag she had over her shoulder and walked close to me. I slid over on the couch so she could have a place to sit. She sat down next to me, still without saying a word. I opened my mouth to say something, but was unable. She quickly seized my face and pressed her lips to mine. It took me by surprise at first, but I quickly melted into it. Her mouth was so warm, even against the harshness of the snow and cold from where she had just come. But with the same abruptness that she initiated the lock, she ended it. We both sat there, hearts pounding and our lungs gasping for air. I was at a loss for words, she had come so quickly.

Ever so quietly, she spoke. "I know how to love." She grabbed her shirt and pulled it up, over her head, revealing her body to me. My eyes went wide, in both surprise and excitement...

...Blaze collapsed onto my chest, unable to go further. I was in just as bad a shape, that girl took a lot out of me. She rolled over and off to warm herself by the fire. I stood up and grabbed a blanket off of the couch. I draped it across Blaze's shoulder and then sat down next to her. She didn't look at me or acknowledge my presence. My head was racing with thoughts, so much had happened in the last hour and I was still trying to take it all in. I could tell Blaze was going through the same thing, lord knows what had happened to her in the last few hours, which made me wonder,

"Why'd you come back?" I said. She sighed and stoked the fire with her powers, thinking of a response.

"When I ran off, I regretted it almost immediately. I knew you didn't mean what you said, and that I shouldn't have snapped at you. But I kept running. I had no idea why, but I did. When I finally began to get tired, I sat down and cried. I knew I had to apologize. I've lost so much in my life, and I didn't want to lose you too. But when I got back to the town, you were gone. But your footprints led me back here. I saw you, crying, and I felt myself cry a little as well, if it was only inside. I didn't know how you'd react to my presence, so I hesitated. I must have watched you for 20 minutes before I saw you begin to doze off. And the rest you know."

I nodded, "I'm sorry I brought your parents into this, I didn't know. But why did you snap at me?"

She sighed again, "Because you feel sorry for that man. Because you are more fascinated with a gem than you are about survival. Because...because...because you're so damn naive. Silver, you are a great fighter and an even better friend. Your mindset is in this world but there are times where you lose focus on what's important."

I lowered my head in shame, "Oh...I'm sorry Blaze, I didn't know that you felt that way."

She put her arm around my shoulder and said, "It's not a bad thing. I find it endearing, but you have a habit of picking the wrong time is all." She leaned over and kissed my cheek, "Come on, let's get some sleep."


End file.
